Payback's a Bitch
by The Mother Rose
Summary: After four years of playing Dumbledore's game Harry has finally had enough. This year is going to be different. The game will be played by his rules now.
1. Reflections

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They**

 **belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me**

 **say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I**

 **don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story**

 **has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long and**

 **already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Payback's a Bitch

A Harry Potter Fanfiction

By The Mother Rose

Chapter One: Reflections of First Year

Harry Potter was sitting on a huge boulder in his backyard at #4 Privet Drive in Little Whining, Surrey, England.

The rock was sheltered by a gnarly old fruit tree and was one of Harry's favorite places in the yard to hide as when

he was younger, his cousin Dudley, who was something of a bully, often forgot to even look for him there because

he couldn't scale it. If he did remember to look there for him, Harry could outlast him. Dudley grew bored very

easily. And Aunt Petunia had never once called Harry down from the rock while Dudley was lying in wait for him.

Harry didn't know it but it was because he liked the boulder as a place to sit and think while hiding from Dudley

that the rock was still in his Aunt and Uncle's back yard instead of having been broken up and hauled away a long

time ago. His Aunt had noticed how Harry was using it and made his Uncle stop calling contractors to get rid of it,

pointing out that so long as Harry had a place to get away from Dudley's need to rough house, they didn't have to

worry about Dudley taking an injury due to Harry's freakishness. If he was on the boulder, it meant he wasn't

interested in or wanting to join Dudley as he played with his friends. Which meant dear Dudley was safer. Or having

to deal with the neighbors calling to complain about him. Which they had done more than once. Which him, they

would complain about, wasn't something she specified and Vernon didn't ask since he just assumed it'd be Harry,

his freakish nephew, who'd disturb them.

Petunia knew better. But then she'd never told Vernon it was their sweet Dudders the neighbors didn't like. She

knew the neighbors saw Dudley as nothing but a bully who's favorite victim was his own cousin and more than one

neighbor had warned her if she didn't get the situation under control, chances were good it'd lead the boys into a

criminal lifestyle as adults. Both boys, the neighbors had insisted when she'd tried to point out that her nephew was

predisposed to that lifestyle already given who his parents had been but that her sweet Dudders had her and his

Father as an example of how decent people lived. They'd pointed out that children who were bullies, to the point

where they had a favorite target for their abuse, often grew up to become thugs and enforcers for petty crime

bosses. And the prisons were full of men like that.

So she'd looked for a way to separate the boys without alerting Vernon to those nasty comments from the

neighbors as to their son's possible future. Giving Harry more chores to do didn't work because, if Dudley was bored

enough, he'd just go disturb Harry and often make a mess of whatever chore the boy was trying to do. That would

lead to Vernon punishing the boy for failing to do his chores properly because of course he wouldn't be done when

Vernon went to check them. Which only gave her Dudley more reason to go bad as that was his intention when he'd

gone to mess with the boy to begin with.

But then she'd seen Harry scaling the boulder only to sit calmly on top of it while Dudley danced around the

base yelling and screaming because he couldn't reach him. After a bit Dudley got bored and wandered off. Harry

had come down the rock and gone back to what he'd been doing before Dudley had chased him onto it. The boy had

never said a word about Dudley's behavior or how he'd interfered in his work that afternoon. Of course, it wouldn't

have done him any good to complain about her Dudders anyway. It took a few more times of seeing that before she

understood but once she did, she stopped Vernon from trying to get rid of it and it became Harry's rock to both the

household and the neighbors.

But today Harry wasn't hiding from his cousin. There wasn't any need to. His cousin wasn't here any more. No

one was. No one but Harry.

He was thinking. Thinking as he had been for most of the summer actually. It was three days until he returned

to Hogwarts for another year of school and near-death experience disguised as saving someone, the school or just

the whole freaking world. He idly wondered which it would be this time. Would Dumbledore place another student in

harms way again to force Harry to rescue them? Or would he bring someone or something dangerous into the

school thereby placing everyone in danger? Or would the threat actually come from Lord Voldie again this year?

There was no doubt in his mind it'd be one of the three. It always was.

Actually, it was rare that the Snake-faced, self-proclaimed Lord was a threat to Harry's well-being of his own

accord. Usually the only times he and Harry had a run-in at all was due to Albus' manipulations and games. Just

because he was over a hundred years old gave him no right to include the innocent lives of children under his care

in his efforts to relieve his boredom. Harry well understood being bored and doing anything you could think of to

relieve that boredom but the old professor took things too far. Way too far, if you asked him. Unfortunately, no one

ever did.

Every year, since Harry was eleven, there had been something. Something dangerous and life threatening.

Where someone could, and usually would, die. And it was always nothing more than the result of a game the old

man was playing. A game where he was the main pawn being played for a fool. Risking life and limb for people who

didn't even bother to say thank-you. Looking back, he could see just how easily he'd been played and manipulated

into being the fool. With shame, he knew he'd allowed them to make a very big fool out of him.

His first year, the game had been disguised as a relatively harmless mystery that he and his friends could solve

with no danger to themselves or anyone else if they solved it quick enough. It wasn't until they had solved it, that

the anything but harmless risk had become clear. A risk that could've been easily avoided. But because Hermione

had insisted they grab the reward just to have proof they had solved the mystery, Harry had found himself face to

face with the threat to the safety of the school. All because a little girl wanted to prove she was smart.

Oh, she hadn't said that at the time. No, she'd claimed they couldn't let the bad guy get his hands on it. The

treasure hidden in the school was too dangerous to let it fall into the wrong hands. A bad guy, she believed, to be

Professor Snape because all the clues said he was the bad guy in the school. Harry had tried to tell her it wasn't

him. That he was too obvious. She wouldn't listen. Hagrid had even told her it wasn't Snape. But she wouldn't listen

to him either. She believed she was smarter than they was. That she understood human nature better than they

did. And getting to the treasure before he did would prove it to everyone. So Harry had gone with her and his other

companion to rescue the treasure.

But if she was so smart, why then hadn't she figured out if he wanted it, he could already have gotten it? He

was, after all, one of the authors of the various traps protecting the stone which was the treasure. The deadliest

trap, as a matter of fact. The last trap before the room with the treasure stored in it. Which meant he had to know

how to bypass all the other traps when he'd set up his own. And of course he knew how to go around his own

trap. He designed it! But even when they were standing in that room facing his challenge, which she freely admitted

could only have been his, she still insisted he was the thief trying to steal the stone from the Headmaster. Which

made no sense at all. Especially since she knew without a doubt that stone didn't belong to the Headmaster at all. It

only proved to Harry she only wanted to go after it so as to prove to everyone she'd solved the mystery. Like a real

world Nancy Drew. Facing real life dangerous situations with her two faithful companions and coming out on top

with the treasure safe and the bad guys caught.

Still, even after he had found himself in a life and death fight, Harry hadn't realized just how he was being

played for a fool. He had blindly gone along with his friends to try and prevent the Philosopher's Stone from being

stolen and used by Lord Voldemort to return him from the half-life existence he was living at the time. Never once

realizing even if the Dark Lord had known what was hidden in the mirror, all the traps that were guarding it and

where exactly it was, -which, as things turned out, he did- he still couldn't actually get it. Simply because he'd

wanted to use it to his own benefit and the trap laid on the mirror was such that only someone who didn't desire to

use it for their own benefit could claim it. Therefore, the Voldemort possessed Quirrel could never have gotten the

stone out of the mirror. And the nature of the mirror itself would prevent them from denying what they wanted with

the stone.

Nor actually could Albus Dumbledore, come to think about it, since he was using it to his own benefit at the time

as well. Albus was using it as a lure to draw Harry into a face to face confrontation with the shade that was

Voldemort at that time. Which meant he was intending to use it to his own benefit also.

Nicolas Flamel, who actually owned the stone, couldn't have gotten it either. Because of course, the Flamels

intended to use the stone. That was why they'd created it to begin with.

Which was why Harry had remained in possession of the stone even after the event had concluded. How he had

managed to hide it from Dumbledore, was something Harry really didn't understand but he had. For some odd

reason, Dumbledore hadn't been able to sense the stone on his person when he came upon Harry passed out from

lack of oxygen in the mirror room and took him to the infirmary. Voldemort had known he had it but Dumbledore

had only suspected. Nor had he found it in Harry's pocket when Harry was unconscious though Harry had no doubt

he'd search him for it. Either that or he'd had Madam Pomfrey search him.

In any case, the stone stayed in Harry's possession for the rest of the school term. He had sent it back to it's

creator with Hedwig, his birthday present from Hagrid and best friend, once he had reached Privet Drive for the

summer. It had taken her two weeks to find them but she was a smart and determined bird who knew this stone

didn't belong to her Master and did belong to the recipients she was to take it to. So she had persisted until she

found them and got herself through their protections to deliver it.

Harry had gotten a letter back from them. It was unaddressed because Harry hadn't signed the letter returning

the stone. So they didn't know who had rescued it or returned it. They'd been grateful since Dumbledore had

reported the stone as destroyed during the thief's attempt to steal it. They'd also revealed he didn't actually have

his permission to remove the stone from Gringott's to begin with because they believed a school full of children was

no place for the most infamous stone in creation. Over the years since it's creation, many lives had been lost by

people seeking the stone and with the knowledge that the stone was being sought yet again by those who'd use it

for ill purposes, they'd sent it to Gringott's in the hopes of preventing that eventuality. Gringott's had let Hagrid

take the stone from the vault because said vault belonged to Albus who told them Nicolas wanted him to store it for

him when in reality Nicolas had said no such thing. So in effect, Albus had conned the goblins into letting him steal

their stone from them. Which they admitted was only a decoy stone for the true stone of immortality and not the

actual stone at all. Though Albus hadn't known that went he conned it off the goblins. And Harry had returned it to

them. They were very grateful and wanted to know what they could do for him in return as this decoy stone was

very useful to them in keeping thieves away from the true stone. The Letter was one of his greatest treasures but

he hadn't sent a reply because there was nothing he wanted for his effort in restoring it to them. That hadn't been

why he did it.

But as for Ron and Hermione, they'd played their roles so beautifully he had honestly thought they were simply

following him into danger as intent on rescuing the Stone as he was. For more selfish reasons, yes. But still only

wanting to do what was right and protect people in the process. He hadn't seen, until years later, how the pair were

his control agents leading him where Dumbledore wanted him to go and showing him what Dumbledore wanted him

to see so that he would fulfill his role in Dumbledore's games, all the while thinking it was his own idea and blaming

only himself for anything that went wrong and anyone who died during the game play. The worst part was, the

stupid stone had never been in any danger since it had never actually been in the Castle to begin with. The stone

Dumbledore had hidden in the mirror was a forgery. A clever one but a fake nonetheless. Something the Flamels

had made clear to Harry in their reply letter.

Not that either Dumbledore or Voldemort had known that. Neither had he actually. But still. Those two had put

a school full of children in the middle of their differences just because they could. And Nicolas and Penny hadn't

wanted the decoy there because the whole world believed it was the real stone and that put the children in danger.

Something Albus knew full well. Knew but didn't care. Because he was bored and wanted to play a game with his

rival.

Still, Nicolas and Penny had been glad to get it back since they used it as a decoy any time rumors about the

real stone and it's properties began to circulate again. The real stone, only they knew the location of and neither of

them would ever reveal it to anyone.

Harry had finally admitted during this long summer of thought that's exactly what it was to Dumbledore. A

game. A game he called The Greater Good. And Ron and Hermione, Harry's supposedly two best friends, were really

just two of the many people he used to keep Harry, deaf, blind and stupid so he could maneuver him the way he

wished him to go.

Someone had died every year, too. That was the saddest part of the whole thing. All his efforts to save lives

failed because in the end, when push came to shove, there was always someone he failed to save.

His first year, the person to die had been his teacher of the Dark Arts. He died by Harry's own hands though

Dumbledore had tried to claim he had pulled the man off Harry and thereby saved Harry's life and establishing a life

debt between Harry and himself. Harry knew that wasn't true. Well, he knew now. Research had told him exactly

what life debts were and how they were established. There were, as it turned out, several things wrong with the old

man trying to claim such a debt against Harry. Not the least of which, was the fact that as his Headmaster, it was

the old man's duty to save Harry should Harry find himself in mortal peril due to something or someone in the

school. Second, you can't claim such a debt against a person if you are the reason they are in mortal peril to begin

with and he was. Finally, the person wishing to claim the debt has to place themselves in mortal peril equal to the

peril facing the one they intend to save. Dumbledore, who hadn't even been present at the time, met none of that

criteria.

If Dumbledore really wanted Harry to owe him a life debt, he should have intervened as soon as Quirrel had

placed his hands on Harry's neck. Drawn the possessed Quirrel's attention to himself right away. But he hadn't.

Instead, he'd lurked in the shadows, if he'd even made it there by that time, waiting for Harry to pass out from

oxygen deprivation first. That hesitancy though gave Harry the chance to realize it was the skin to skin touch that

was harming the possessed teacher.

Harry had acknowledged that when he'd placed his own hands on the Professor's face to speed up the skin to

skin contact effect and that was what had killed the Professor. He knew it and nothing Dumbledore could say could

change that knowledge. Because Quirrel was, at the time, possessed by Lord Voldemort, he couldn't tolerate Harry's

touch which had been imbued with the spell his Mother had cast on him the night she died to protect him from Lord

Voldemort. Dumbledore had been forced to admit it when he'd visited Harry in the infirmary. Even still, Dumbledore

had never placed himself in harms way to rescue Harry. So he'd never have been able to claim a true debt anyway.

And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that it was his game that had caused the confrontation to begin with. So

no life debt was owed him.

Harry had used that long past summer to convince himself he'd done the teacher a favor since the man had

been possessed by Voldie all year and was dying by degrees anyway. It was regrettable but both Dumbledore and

Voldemort had felt the life of Quirnus Quirrel was an acceptable loss in this war of ideals they were engaged in. But

still, by the time he'd returned to Hogwarts as a twelve year old, he had faced the fact that he was, whether he

liked it or not, a murderer. He also knew for a fact there was no life debt between him and the Headmaster which

made the man a liar and a conman even if he couldn't claim to know anything more damaging about the man. And

that meant he wasn't trustworthy.

During that first summer, he'd convinced his Uncle to take him to London when he had a business trip there,

and made a trip to the three bookstores in Diagon Alley. There, he had asked the store owners to point him to

books about life debts only explaining someone was trying to claim one against him and he wanted to find out more

before he accepted or denied the claim. Since Harry was famous in the magical world, to hear someone was trying

to claim any kind of a debt against him was cause for alarm. The merchants had been only too happy to help him.

The owner of the second hand shop even went into her backroom to see if she had any books that hadn't yet

made it to the shelves. He'd left her shop with five books. At Flourish and Blotts, the manager pointed out three

different books he thought Harry should read as they had information in them about different categories of debts

one magic user could claim against another. And Obscurus, down in Knockturn Alley, had delivered two very old

books about such debts. One book was all about the more esoteric and obscure debts a witch or wizard could claim.

The other told about debts that could be turned back on the person claiming them and how to do it to free yourself

from the obligation. So all in all, he'd come back to Privet Drive with ten books on magical debts to read. He'd been

surprised when his Uncle had let him keep them in Dudley's second bedroom with him and even more surprised

when his Aunt made certain he had time to actually read them between doing his normal chores.

Harry had also picked up a wide variety of other books covering not only the myths he had come up against

that past school year, but also things every wizarding child raised in the magical world knows before they get to

Hogwarts. Harry had read all books on magical debts before deciding he didn't owe a life debt to anyone as he

didn't feel a pull on his core to go above and beyond what was normal for him. Not for the sake of the old man or

for anyone else. It was from them though that Harry had come to realize Hermione Granger did owe him just such a

debt as he had definitely placed himself in peril to rescue her from a Troll on Halloween.

 **Author Note: Please review and remember I told you up front these are not the canon characters. My characters are based on certain personality traits the canon characters displayed or events that occurred in canon but could have been taken another way. I am not bashing Ms. Rawlings work. I am merely creating my own using her setting and the people she populated it with.**


	2. Second Year

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They**

 **belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me**

 **say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I**

 **don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story**

 **has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long and**

 **already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Two: Second Year

His second year had been another game for Dumbledore. Another testing of Harry's mettle and will to protect. Only this time he was also being tested to see how well he could stand alone against the tide and, if he had a connection to Lord Voldemort, how deep did that connection go? Because, unknown to Harry, Hermione and Ron had told the old man how Harry's scar would bother him any time he was near Voldemort. What was the source of the connection and how greatly did the connection influence Harry's thinking and personality. After all, Dumbledore had tagged Harry to be his weapon of choice in this turf war he was having against Voldemort for control of the playground. The playground in question being the British Wizarding society.

Unfortunately, Harry had once again not realized how his two so-called friends were being used to guide him and reporting back to the Headmaster with every little tidbit of information they could gather for him. Information that he could then use to further manipulate Harry into doing his bidding whether or not it was in Harry's best interest or not. In fact, it was most often decidedly not in Harry's best interest.

It was a year that resulted in a confirmation of the debt between him and Hermione Granger, a new debt between him and Ginerva Weasely being formed, a dead basilisk and a destroyed horocrux in the form of an old diary. Oh and a very grateful freed house-elf devoted to Harry for the gift of his freedom.

But because he could speak to snakes, it had been a lonely year for Harry when the entire school had openly turned against him, isolating and shunning him for not living up to their expectations as the hero they'd always been told he was. All for saving a Hufflepuff boy from a very nasty and painful death by snake bite. After all, the students thought they knew everything about him because they'd grown up hearing wonderful bedtime stories of his fabulous life and not one of those stories had ever said he could talk to snakes. A talent they had been taught was evil. Something only the darkest of witches and wizards possessed or would dare to use in public.

He'd thought Hermione incredibly brave to buck the system, even if she wasn't doing it openly, to help him prove he wasn't the Heir of Slytherin or the one endangering the muggleborn and half blood students. She'd slunk through the halls on a mission to find the proof he needed and discover exactly what the true nature of the threat against the students was as well as where the location of the Chamber of Secrets actually was. He'd even thought she'd committed a couple of crimes by destroying a library book and brewing a complicated potion illegally to help him out. He'd been so stupid. So gullible.

Now he knew it wasn't true but he should've known it then, too. The library was like a cathedral to her. A holy place. No way would she have vandalized a book belonging to the library. She went on frequent rants any time she saw a student writing in the margins of their own bought and paid for books. So he should've realized at the time she'd never destroy one by tearing out a page. Books were her bible and yet he thought she'd torn a page out of one because it contained the information he needed to ride to the rescue. But that, like the stealing of potion ingredients to brew a potion she had no reason to know even existed, had been a carefully planted lie. Hell, even her claiming to be able to brew said potion was nothing more than a lie and a smokescreen.

She had been slinking through the halls as he had thought she was. But she wasn't looking for proof that he wasn't the one endangering the students. She already knew he wasn't. She was looking for the location of the entrance to the Chambers. That was the only true thing she'd told him. She was looking for it because Dumbledore had told her Harry needed to go there and face his destiny. And how could she make sure he went when she didn't know where it was?

But she'd also used those sneaking expeditions to spread the rumors about him trashing his reputation and causing their fellow students to look at him with suspicion and unease. Thereby, making sure the student body remained wary of him. Dumbledore didn't want Harry's naturally quiet and retiring personality swaying the children back to neutrality too soon. Neutrality that would quickly turn to adoration again because really speaking to snakes wasn't all that bad if no one got hurt by it. And so far no one had. Even the dimmest student knew that much. So she kept their mistrust alive with the careful spreading of rumors just as Ronald did with his wary attitude towards, and later lies about, Harry.

As for the supposed crime, well she hadn't done that, either. She'd been given the boomslag skin she'd needed for the advanced potion she'd decided they needed to make so they could find out more about the true Heir of Slytherin. And she was helped in the brewing of the actual potion because there was no way someone who had only been brewing potions for less than one calendar year could've brewed that very complicated potion at all. Let alone in a damp bathroom while still attending all their classes and trying to keep it a secret that they were doing so. Even the most talented beginner brewers would've messed it up. And good as she was at the time, she was only a beginner brewer.

Yet her brew had turned out perfect. Well, except for her supposedly using a cat hair instead of a human one. Which was only further proof that she didn't brew the potion at all. After all, if she could brew a complicated potion like the Polyjuice perfectly the first time she ever tried it, why then would she mistake a feline hair for a human one? Even Harry wouldn't have made that mistake.

Millicent Bulstrode's shoulder length hair was light brown, almost a dirty blonde, and very curly. Her cat was a short hair breed with a wiry, black coat of short, straight hairs. The cat was pure black without a hint of any other color. Even the shortest of Millicent's hairs would be a great deal longer, not to mention curlier, than her cat's. Because Millicent was female and almost no girls wore a buzz cut. Especially not in the wizarding world. So there was no way Hermione could've mistaken a hair from that cat for Ms. Bulstrode's hair. Yet she claimed she had. Even going so far as to allow him to see a black furred cat tail under the door of the bathroom stall she'd gone into for the transformation. A tail Ron had made certain Harry saw by silently pointing it out while snickering. Which meant Ron had been in on the deception though at the time he hadn't known that any more than he'd known Hermione was deceiving him.

Hindsight though was a wonderful and a cursed thing. Hindsight allowed Harry to see everything he'd missed at the time and to curse himself for his own ignorance. With the benefit of hindsight, Harry could see there were many things about that potion that didn't add up. Things, he hadn't given the attention they deserved because he was far too grateful to have someone claiming they believed in him and willing to hang around with him to see the smoothness of her claims couldn't be honest. Even as smart as she clearly was, she couldn't have been that far advanced in her reading to know everything she'd claimed to have known that year. Magic was too new to her for that. He'd spent the summer reading books about the magical world and what children his age raised in it went to school already knowing. Yet he knew he'd not only never heard of the Polyjuice Potion, he also knew there was no way he could've brewed it as she did. Not then. Nowadays he could and often had as it was one of the many potions he kept fresh and ready to use all the time. Being famous in that world and under observation in this one, there were often times when that potion came in very handy for him. But back then he hadn't even known it existed.

Now he knew he'd very neatly been set up. She and Ron had convinced him to provide a distraction in Potions so she could visit the Master's storeroom to get the ingredients they needed for the potion. He hadn't even questioned why she needed to access the Master's storeroom for the ingredients as both were available in the student storeroom. Nor had he thought to question how she planned to access Professor Snape's private stores which were locked against any and all students. Yet she'd clearly told him she had to get into _his_ storeroom.

Ron had provided the firework for him to throw, suggesting Harry throw it into Malfoy's cauldron and like a fool he'd done it. He could've refused. He could've just thrown it into the air and let it distract the classroom. He still would've gotten into trouble but it would've provided the distraction she claimed to need all the same. Yet he'd done what Ron suggested without hesitation. While he wouldn't say Ron knew he could have seriously injured or killed Malfoy by doing so, he did know Ron wouldn't have lost any sleep over it if that had occurred. Because Ronald Weasely didn't like Draco Malfoy. But also because Ron didn't actually throw the firecracker. Harry did. And just one more step in his brewing would've seen Draco severely harmed by the explosion that firecracker had caused. One more step.

She'd slipped from the room while the Professor was tearing well deserved strips out of Harry's hide. That meant, in the entire incident, he was the only one to actually do something wrong though at the time he'd thought they were all equally guilty of wrong doing. He really should have figured that out at the time since there was no way Snape would've missed Hermione entering his private storeroom. Naturally, he was the only one who actually got into trouble over the incident. But he hadn't caught on. Hadn't figured it out. Just like he'd never paused to wonder why exactly Ron had a firecracker from his brothers, the twins, supply of mischief makers in his pocket that day. If he could get a firecracker, couldn't he also have gotten something less volatile like an untainted candy or the wrapper from one? Neither of those would've caused an explosion that could hurt anyone. But then, an explosion is what Ron had wanted. And if someone got hurt, all the better for Dumbledore's plans. Because that was leverage to use against Harry.

He'd been a fool. He'd been happy to take the fall, thinking he was sheltering his friends and glad to do so since they were helping him prove his innocence. How they must have laughed at him. So foolish. So gullible. So stupid!Hindsight made it clear what he'd done had been extremely dangerous as well proving to Professor Snape that Harry was every bit his father's son as he had always claimed he was. And because Malfoy had actually suffered a real injury, minor but still real, he'd given Dumbledore and his cronies all they needed to further isolate Harry and set him up to his peers. Something Harry had never been able to recover from. Something he was still forced to deal with even now. Years later.

Harry had been removed from Gryffindor Tower and into Protective Custody by the Headmaster and his Head of House when it became clear none of his dorm mates were willing to stand up for him or wanted to share a room with him any more. After all, even though they all knew Malfoy had been getting in his face and taunting him ever since he'd first set foot into the magical world, he'd still hurt him. And if he could hurt Malfoy, who wasn't even in their Tower, just for taunting and teasing him, what could he do to them if they upset him? Thanks to Ronald talking about him behind his back, those other boys in his dorm all believed he had a superiority complex and a hair trigger temper. They also believed he was quite capable of holding grudges and getting payback against those he felt had somehow wronged him which Malfoy had done by bad-mouthing his parents and the manner of their deaths.

He was given his own chambers on a different floor with a portrait under strict orders not to let anyone except the teachers, Headmaster, house elves and Harry inside the room without express permission, to guard the entrance to his sanctuary. Because Dumbledore had provided the portrait with Harry's class schedule, the door portrait would go into lockdown as soon as Harry was escorted back after his last scheduled class. It wouldn't unlock until breakfast time the following morning except for one of the afore-mentioned persons minus Harry himself. In essence, he was a prisoner and there was nothing he could do about it but serve his open-ended sentence. All for throwing a firecracker into the cauldron of another student.

He had been heavily and obviously escorted to and from all his classes allegedly because it wasn't safe for him to be in the halls alone and since he was being shunned by his school mates, there was no one else to walk with him. Once a day, he'd be escorted to a bathing room by one of the male teachers, usually Professor Snape who spent the entire time regaling him with what a waste of time and space he was, so he could take a shower but otherwise he spent all his time in his room. He got used to the invasion of privacy as Snape refused to leave Harry alone in the shower room for his daily showers. How could he rag on Harry if he wasn't in the room with him? He wasn't even allowed to visit the library for extra books on homework assignments as the teachers claimed not to have the time to stand guard over him while he was there. So his grades, which were already only average, took a nosedive since he had no reference materials outside his own textbooks to use. And no matter how many times he asked, Hermione always seemed unable to bring him any extra books for his assignments. Either she forgot or the book was checked out or in use by another student. Or she was currently using it herself but she'd give it to him when she was done with it. A story Harry knew even then meant too late to use it for his homework.

He'd even lost his spot on the Quiditch team because as Professor McGonagal said, "There's no way for us to protect you while you are flying and the team claims they don't feel safe flying with you." She hadn't been happy about that as in her opinion that meant Gryffindor was at a disadvantage to win the cup and it was very clear to Harry she blamed him entirely for no longer being able to play as the team Seeker for her. And her guilt trip worked. Harry had felt so guilty over what he had done in throwing that firecracker, he had eagerly and willingly done whatever she asked of him in penitence. In fact, he'd done everything he could to please the teachers and get moved back into his dormitory. Including apologizing to Draco both in private and in front of witnesses though he'd refused to accept it claiming Harry was only saying that because he wanted to get out of trouble and not because he meant it. And of course, Draco didn't get pulled aside by the Headmaster and lectured on the benefit of forgiveness as Harry would've if it'd been the other way around. Nor did anyone else speak up for Harry or admonish Draco for not accepting the apology.

But not once had he seen how being under that heavy guard had only made him look guilty of being exactly the monster the students thought he was. Or substantiated the claims of his detractors that he required special treatment. To the students, he was being watched carefully because he was guilty of whatever they accused him of being in their rumors or he was such a spoilt ponce he demanded to be treated special compared to how everyone else was treated. So even at the end of the year when it was proven he wasn't guilty of turning the monster loose on the school, it didn't matter. His reputation was litter in the drainage ditch. No one wanted to know him. Let alone befriend him.

A student had died that year. Eleven year old Colin Creevey had been an avid fan of Harry's. No one could convince him Harry was anything but the Hero he'd been told he was and the child had followed Harry everywhere he went when he wasn't in class. Even after Harry had been removed from the Tower, Colin had still managed to find and follow Harry around. He had a stalker personality and Harry was half convinced the boy would grow up to become a member of the paparazzi. His favorite possession was his camera and he took copious amounts of pictures of Harry further fueling Harry's belief. But he would never grow up now. Because he had died in the second floor corridor outside an out-of-service girls' loo. The same loo where Hermione had insisted they brew that Polyjuice Potion so they could interrogate the Slytherins in their nest.

About halfway through the year Colin had noticed one of his classmates was acting oddly and had switched to following her, trying to figure out what she was up to and why she was acting so oddly. Neither Harry nor any of the other students had given any thought as to what could cause Colin to give up on following Harry around. Harry had just figured peer pressure had finally gotten to the first year. Everyone else, for their own reasons, had simply been glad he had. Harry had never suspecting the danger the child was in. Unfortunately, Colin had followed the girl straight into danger and he had died for his curiosity. But he had left them their first solid bits of evidence that Harry wasn't the student posing the threat against the muggleborn and halfblood students.

In his things, they'd found his journal where, in his own unique shorthand, he'd recorded what he saw happening around the school and who he was following as well as why and where the subject had led him to date. He hadn't used the person's name though he'd made it clear why he found _her_ behavior suspicious and why he'd decided to follow _her_. He hadn't given a real description but he'd referred to her as a _female_ more than a few times and a few of his entries described _her_ as being a red head in his own house and year. Nor was it possible he was being fooled by a potion since sometimes he'd followed her for hours. They had all their classes together. Which meant all their meals and free time were together also. He would've noticed if she was drinking something each hour and, given this was Colin they were talking about, there would've been a notation in the notebook about it. Because eleven year old children don't drink something once an hour, every hour, all day long. And while Colin wouldn't have known what such an action might mean, others would when they read it in his notations. Yet he hadn't written any such thing. Which meant it really was a redheaded girl in his tower and year he was following.

But the information recorded by him in his notebook was enough to tell any thinking person who he was following since there was only one first year Gryffindor _girl_ with red hair. Ginerva Weasely. Yet no one had bothered to act on the information Colin had left behind. Because Dumbledore's game wasn't yet played out to it's natural conclusion. And Dumbledore didn't want Harry reinstated into Gryffindor Tower. Harry hadn't exposed the fraud he'd hired for what he was and he had in no way risked his life doing some random hero thing to save something or someone from something nasty. Yes, he'd given the Headmaster something by which he could coerce Harry into doing as he chose, but considering Harry was only twelve and Draco's injury was neither serious nor permanent, that wasn't really enough to control all his actions and behavior forever. Which is what the Headmaster was after. Total control of Harry. Forever.

The night Colin had died, he had taken her picture as she had opened the way into the Chamber of Secrets to reveal the Basilisk that was the cause of the misery that year. In shock, Colin had dropped his still clicking camera but failed to close his eyes. His horrified stare met that of the crazed basilisk and nature took it's course. Colin died. After the attack, the Headmaster claimed something about the basilisk ruined the film in Colin's camera so that when it was developed all they had to prove Harry wasn't the murderer was a fuzzy out of focus photo that showed a long free flowing fall of red hair standing in front of what looked to be a huge snake. Hindsight said that was most probably a lie since Colin had actually dropped the camera before meeting the eyes of the basilisk. Therefore, the snake had nothing to do with the ruined film. But for the students, the fact the picture showed it was a snake attacking and now killing the students was all the proof they needed. Harry could talk to snakes and no one else they knew could.

Still, the image of red hair was enough for some of the lower level students to stop harassing Harry. Mostly the muggleborn or bred surprisingly enough. Because to their way of thinking, the picture showed quite clearly the dangerous person wasn't Harry because he didn't have red hair and if they hadn't known Harry could speak to snakes until he did it in the Great Hall, who was to say there wasn't someone else who could also speak to them but was hiding the ability.

Naturally, this proof wasn't enough for Ron, who'd openly turned on Harry after the incident in the Potions class where Draco Malfoy had gotten hurt. Or the older students who knew of ways in which a skilled wizard could change their appearance to make them appear to be someone else. Never mind that Harry was only a twelve year old muggle raised boy and so didn't share the same knowledge base as themselves.

And of course it wasn't enough to get Harry moved back into the Tower or back on the Quiditch team since Dumbledore wanted Harry isolated and alone. He wanted Harry to believe it was only through himself Harry could have anything resembling a normal life and Harry hadn't come to him asking to be moved back into the tower. Dumbledore really had no idea how very used to being isolated and alone Harry truly was after growing up in the Dursley household or he'd have known Harry had no idea he was waiting for him to come begging to be released from his punishment.

Ron, being the idiot he was, claimed Harry was trying to pin the blame on his family because he was angry with Ron. He claimed it was only because he was being so vocal in denouncing Harry and trying to get him removed from the roster as a student at Hogwarts that Harry had taken on the appearance of a red headed girl. Because everybody knew Ron's sister was a red head. And just because the person in that shot was clearly a small person didn't mean it wasn't Harry since everyone knew he was easily the smallest second year in the school. In fact, he was smaller than a lot of the first years. Ron let it be known to everyone Harry was only trying to pin his guilt on the Weasely family because Ron was no longer buying his innocent act. He had started the slogan, which Malfoy had picked up and turned into lapel pins, that announced it was time to 'Flush the Potter'.

And really if nothing else, that event alone should have told Harry Ron wasn't really his friend. It wasn't like the Weasely children were the only redheads in the school and red hair was the only thing clear about the picture they had recovered. Susan Bones over in Hufflepuff also had red hair. And though Colin's notebook had clearly specified the one opening the chamber was female and in his year, which Ron clearly wasn't, that information had been hushed up by the staff. So no one knew who Colin had fingered. Yet even without the knowledge of what was written in Colin's book, his claim that Harry had disguised himself with red hair to pin his crime on Ron didn't hold water. Harry was on restricted school access and under heavy guard provided by the staff whenever he was allowed in the halls. Nor could he leave his room without said member of staff to act as his escort. The door guard didn't answer to him. Only to the staff. He didn't have the freedom to wander as all the other students did. It didn't matter. Everyone believed Ron. Which meant the students believed the staff was allowing him to endanger them.

Because they wanted to. He knew that now. The wizarding people just didn't like to think for themselves so long as they could find someone else who was willing to do it for them. So long as what was said made sense. Even if you had to go a long way around to figure it out. Never think for yourself if you don't have to should have been the Wizarding World's motto. And while they liked the idea of heros, they didn't really want a real live person to be said hero. So they would always jump to believe anything negative about anyone given that title even as they themselves believed said person was a hero.

Yet Harry hadn't given the denouncement any further thought as to the reason behind it. Hindsight showed Ron had to have at least suspected his sister was the one letting the monster loose in the school. Yet he had said nothing. Now Harry half-heartedly wished he had allowed Aragog's children to eat the brat when they had made it clear they wished to. But at the time he'd still thought of Ron as his friend. Nor had he wondered just how it was that every time Ron and Hermione wanted him to do things with them, he was allowed out of his rooms to engage in that activity. Without the staff playing chaperone over them all. And some of it was clearly against the rules given to him by the staff when he was placed into the room. In fact, most of it was.

And at the end of the year, when even Dumbledore was ready to close the school due to the disappearance of Ginerva Weasely and the clear and present danger to all the students in the Castle, Ron had made his feelings very clear by trying to personally kill Harry. Ron had come and dragged Harry out of his room, showing Harry he had the password to the room though Harry had never given it to him and forced Harry, along with Lockhart, into the tunnel leading to the Chambers to rescue the stupid girl before she died, claiming they couldn't just leave her there if there was any chance she was still alive.

Harry had never lied to himself about the events of that day or what the possible outcome could have been. His entire childhood had taught him all too well how to recognize when someone meant him harm. Even when he wanted to believe the person trying to do him harm didn't mean it, his mind would always recognize their actions against him for what they were. Harmful. He knew Ron hadn't cared one bit about the danger Harry was in. All he cared about was forcing Harry to rescue his stupid sister and live up to the myth surrounding his life. Hell, he hadn't really even cared if his sister survived the day or not. For Ron, the whole thing had only been about him and how he could use it to puff himself up.

If Harry died, oh well. Ron would spend the rest of his life talking about the days when he had been the Best Friend of the Boy-Who-Lived-and-Died trying to rescue a helpless damsel in distress. He'd never acknowledge Harry had only died because he was unprepared to meet the challenge Ron had forced him into facing. It was doubtful Ron would even admit the girl who'd needed rescuing was his own sister as that would more than likely mean Ron would have to share attention with her. Even if Harry's death in trying to rescue her almost guaranteed her death at the scene as well.

Nor was it at all likely that, once the young Tom Riddle had drained her life force, he would've allowed Ronald Weasely to live to tell the tale. After all, according to Voldemort, Ronald Weasely and all of his family were Blood Traitors and deserved to die. Added to that, Voldemort would've realized Ronald had betrayed Harry, his supposedly best mate. Had always betrayed Harry while lying to him claiming to be his friend. Because Ginerva Molly Weasely had been writing to him and telling him everything all year long. And Voldemort didn't take betrayal lightly. Even when it was betrayal of his self-appointed enemy. Ron's own actions into forcing Harry into that situation would've declared him to Voldemort as the worst blood traitor of them all. He would've killed Ron without hesitation before leaving the Chamber to wreak havoc on the world.

And Harry had almost died that day. Sometimes, he almost wished he had. Then at least all this would be over. He'd be back with his parents and maybe no one else would've died needlessly to feed an old man's power driven ego. He'd come so close. Because he'd been bitten by the basilisk even as he'd slain it. He'd pulled the fang from his arm and saw the blood pouring from the wound. Blood that had streaks of black and green in it. Poison and dead cells. Still he'd found the strength to stab the diary Ginerva had so foolishly spent the year writing in. That action killed the shade before it could finish stealing Ginerva's life force. So he'd already saved her life and done his task for the year. And he was dying. Of that he had no doubts. Even as she was waking from her stupor.

Sitting here on his rock in the Dursley backyard, Harry couldn't help but wonder how many more people that girl would grow up to endanger and kill before she was stopped. Because even back then he'd known she had no regard for the lives she'd endangered through her stupidity. Not even his.

Basilisk poison kills universally. It doesn't discriminate. If not for Fawkes, the Sorting Hat and the Sword of Gryffindor, he knew he'd never have left that chamber and neither would Ginny. Both of them would've lain in the central chamber forever until their bones turned to dust and blew away. For that matter, given how very stupid and lazy Ron was, there was a very good chance he too would've died in the tunnels if Fawkes hadn't come to aid Harry. Professor Lockhart certainly was no help seeing as how he couldn't even remember his own name after he tried to obliviate both Ron and Harry of their memories with Ron's broken wand, causing a landslide and ending up obliviating himself instead.

Sitting here, on his rock, looking back into the past, Harry couldn't help but feel he had done the world a disservice in not refusing Fawkes aid that day. But as much as a part of him longed to go home to his Mum and Dad, the larger part of him hadn't been ready to die yet. He was only twelve years old and at the time he'd still had hope that one day he'd find something good about this thing called life. Something that would make his existence mean something.

But Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix familiar, had come, to Harry's mental call, bringing both the Hat and the Sword. The fiery bird had stayed to help Harry fight the overgrown Snake and tried to rouse Ginny from the stupor she'd fallen into while Harry had battled the maddened, enraged beast. The Hat had provided the sword and tried to give Harry instruction on how to use it. But the sword was as big as Harry and he'd never even tried to use one before. So those instructions weren't a great deal of help.

In the end, it was Fawkes and Harry who'd saved the red headed girl though once again Dumbledore had tried to claim a life debt against Harry since Fawkes was supposedly his familiar. Again, Harry refused to accept the obligation since he knew no debt had been incurred. At least, not between Harry and the Headmaster anyway. Once again the Headmaster hadn't in any manner endangered himself in securing Harry's life. Just because Fawkes had come to Harry's mental call for aid and brought the sorting hat with him, didn't mean Dumbledore had either been in mortal peril or even authorized the aid.

Both Fawkes and the Sorting Hat had specifically told Harry they came to his aid because they heard his plea for help. Dumbledore hadn't had anything to do with it. Fawkes and the Sorting Hat both had an agreement with Hogwarts itself to aid in the protection of any and all students while they remained inside the Castle or on the Castle grounds. And accessible to the masses or not, the Chamber was within the Castle and Harry was a student. Both Hat and Bird had heard Harry's call because the Castle had heard it and sent it to them so he could receive the help he needed. Nor had either Fawkes or Dumbledore been in mortal peril during the time Fawkes had rendered Harry his aid.

Ron had spent the remaining weeks of school bragging to everyone about his part in the rescue, exaggerating and embellishing the story every time he told it. By the time the year ended you'd have thought he was the one who had done all the hard work since clearing that hole in the rockfall had featured largely in why they had all made it out of the Chamber. He'd even tried to claim his own life debt against Harry since he claimed they would have died without him clearing a hole in the landslide. He spent a lot of time pretending to fawn over both his sister and Harry so as to convince everyone of what a great guy he was. Because for Ron it was all about him.

But Harry had noticed, not once had he apologized for any of the grief he had caused Harry that year. Not once had he apologized for shoving him in the back to force him into the Chamber entrance or for the bruise on Harry's back that confirmed the very physical backstab he'd received from him. Not once had he recanted any of his former statements about Harry's disposition or personality. Not for giving Harry a firecracker to use as a distraction or even encouraging to the point of harassment Harry to throw it in a specific cauldron or for letting Harry take the fall for all of them alone. Not for turning his back on Harry or accusing him of trying to frame his family for his own bad acts. Not even for that damn pin he still had in his possession. No, Ron hadn't apologized at all. Not for anything.

And contrary to what Ron believed, Harry hadn't forgiven him for any of it. Not one single second of it. Nor had he forgotten it as Ron supposed he had. As Dumbledore had told everyone Harry would. But Harry had along ago learned for forgiveness to mean anything it must be asked for as in the asking, one shows one knows one has done wrong. Forgiveness granted when it's not asked for only means the act needing forgiveness will occur again and again. So no. Harry hadn't forgotten. And he hadn't forgiven.

The truth was Dumbledore didn't know Harry Potter any better than anyone else did. Which explained why he was always trying to claim a life debt. And preaching to Harry about the value of forgiving others every wrong against him. No matter what, Dumbledore wanted a permanent means by which to control every facet of Harry's life. And to that point, all he had was a twelve year old throwing a firecracker during a Potions class. The usefulness of that bad act would wear out one day. Especially since everyone and their brother knew Harry had already apologized to Draco twice for the incident and been refused forgiveness.

Just as he controlled Professor Snape's. The tattoo on Snape's arm and his feelings for Harry's dead Mum were the control agent the old man used to keep the bitter man under his thumb. But the day would come when neither of those two things would work any more and the dark man would break free. Probably on the same day Harry came of age as a matter of fact. Somehow, Harry had a feeling Dumbledore would not like it when that happened. Because Snape was the type to hold a grudge for a very long time. And Dumbledore had wracked up a lot of grudges for Snape to hold onto. He was the type of man to keep a list of every single offence against him personally and make certain that said offender paid for each strike. And if you acted against him or offended him in some manner, you'd regret it long before he let go of his grudge against you. His treatment of Harry was proof of how very long Professor Snape could hold a grudge.

Hermione had been one of the last victims found petrified in the hallway outside the abandoned bathroom. She had the scrap of parchment clutched tightly in her hand at the time and Harry had assumed she'd been coming to find him after discovering what the monster was and how it was getting around the school. She probably was but not from the library as he'd assumed at the time. More like from Dumbledore's office. But that was why her life debt to him had been confirmed. Because once again he'd slain the monster that had threatened her and placed her in deadly peril. Alone, Harry knew the incident wasn't enough to have forged a bond at all. But added to saving her from the troll in their first year, it was. So Harry left his second Hogwarts year with a new scar and two life debts owed to him.

 **Author Note: Please review and remember I told you up front these are not the canon characters. My characters are based on certain personality traits the canon characters displayed or events that occurred in canon but could have been taken another way. I am not bashing Ms. Rawlings work. I am creating my own using her setting and the people she populated it with. There's a few more of these ground laying chapters before I get to the present day. I'm sorry but they are necessary to show the differences in my characters and Ms. Rawlings. I hope this page loads correctly. The last chapter didn't and for that I apologize. I'm not sure why they aren't.**


	3. Third Year

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long and already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do. Please excuse the formatting. For some reason I can't seem to indent my paragraphs correctly. It's driving me bonkers.**

Chapter Three: Third Year

Once again Harry had visited Diagon Alley during the summer to obtain books he didn't already have so as to better sort out in his mind the events of his second school year. Vernon hadn't liked driving him into the city because that meant he wasn't at the house doing the chores his family didn't like to do. But Petunia had told him to take him. So he had. No more than once a week. But still, Harry got to go. And just like in his first summer, Petunia made sure he had enough free time to actually read the books he purchased. Why she let him, Harry didn't know and really couldn't care. He was just grateful she did. But to her mind, if Harry had new books to read during his downtime, then he was in his room and away from her family. Dudley, who wasn't allowed to bother Harry in his room, wasn't looking to torment him to relieve his boredom and the neighbors weren't gossiping about her family.

This time the books were on potions and the magical creatures of the Wizarding World, their weaknesses and how each can be most easily identified by what they leave behind and law books covering the laws that allowed the Ministry or Hogwarts to rescind someone's wand rights and/or snap their wand. He wanted to look up that potion Hermione claimed to have read about and learn more about the art of making potions period. It was clear to him he'd never learn anything by waiting for Professor Snape to actually teach him. So he bought several books on the subject to learn what he could on his own.

The incidents with first the spiders and then the basilisk had made him realize he didn't know enough about the creatures of the magical world. And that lack of knowledge could spell the end of his life. Although he knew there was nothing he could do about it now he believed if he had known what the fleeing spiders and petrified victims had meant to begin with, he might have stood a better chance at defeating the Great Beast. Certainly he wouldn't have followed the fleeing spiders to Aragog's nest. Regardless of what Hagrid had told them.

He had also spent a great deal of money buying magical study books for Hagrid and arranging for the half-giant to get a new replacement wand since it was very clear to him, Hagrid had only been a convenient scapegoat used by the gang leaders fighting their turf war for control of the local playground. While Hagrid would have to keep his new wand hidden just as he had hidden his broken wand, he did deserve to have it and to learn all the magic tricks other witches and wizard could perform. Hagrid had been very grateful and had sent Harry the class books for his Care of Magical Creatures class which Harry had signed up for as an elective in his third year.

In third year, while Dumbledore had been forced to stop his game, there had still been outside interference in Harry's educational process. This time the interference came from the Ministry supposedly in the interest of keeping Harry safe from an escaped convict. The Ministry sent Dementors to patrol the Castle grounds and keep a watch over all the students. Dementors were monsters used to control the inmates in Azkaban, the wizarding prison. Unfortunately, the dementors were drawn to Harry and he had a definite weakness to them that no one could explain. Or at least, no one would explain. Luckily, thanks to the Headmaster forcing him to remain in lockdown when not in classes or the Great Hall for meals, Harry didn't have much actual contact with them.

Because of this Ministry Protection, the Headmaster decided to add his own layer of protection for Harry. He'd refused Minerva's request for Harry to be moved back into the tower with his year mates. Now that Harry was a hero to the school again, she'd wanted him back in his dorm. Dumbledore didn't. And what Dumbledore wanted, Dumbledore got.

So Harry remained in the isolation room. Nor was Harry allowed to freely wander the halls or grounds between classes as the other students were. Harry was still in the rooms he had been given during his second year. And he was still being escorted any time he was out of his rooms. He also had a new stalker. Only this stalker was a simpering fool of a girl instead of a budding paparazzi.

Somehow Ron and Hermione, with a fawning, simpering and adoring Ginerva, had gotten permission to walk with him in the halls between classes. All three had made it a point to tell Harry they forgave him for everything from the previous year and still considered him to be their friend. Which was really ludicrous coming from Ginerva as she and Harry had never been friends at all and she was the reason for everything that had occurred during his second year. Yet she forgave him! For what?

Harry couldn't stand the redheaded girl but after hinting at that once and receiving a very sound lecture from both Ronald and Hermione, he'd never said a word against the stupid girl again. Or to her for that matter. He ignored her completely. Even when she spoke to him. Or insisted on trying to hang off his arm like a limpet. She even tried to hold his hand a few times. But he grew adept at switching which hand he was using to carry his bookbag so she couldn't stake a claim to him as she wished. He wanted nothing to do with her which only got him more lectures from Hermione and Ron who were determined to make him accept her.

Hermione had told him he should be more accepting of others and allow them to get to know him as a means of demolishing his perceived image. It was rather tarnished after the thing with Draco last year she'd reminded him. Which he needed to apologize for since there was no reason to actually injure him. Ginny, she said, was very popular with her age group and could carry the truth about him to her classmates. And contact with Harry personally would help her realize he was just a normal boy like all the others. Harry personally thought her age group were fools if they really liked and trusted her considering she'd already killed one of their number. Nor would he be apologizing again when he already had twice and been rejected both times.

Ronald claimed Harry was only angry with her over something that wasn't her fault and could've happened to anyone which was true to a degree. He berated Harry for repaying his friendship by trying to make Ron choose between Harry and his sister, though Harry wasn't doing any such thing. Once again he tried to play the life debt card to force Harry into accepting Ginny into his circle. Then capped it all off by saying Harry should be grateful Ginny thought she liked him as she was a girl of high station and could have any boy she wanted when she grew up. But she believed she wanted him. So he should be grateful and accept while she wanted to be with him.

Both of them claimed Harry needed to forgive her since she'd only been a child and hadn't had any way to know the nature of that cursed diary. Which Harry thought was utter bull given what her father and oldest brother made their lives doing. Besides which, both claimed there had never been any danger to Harry personally in saving her. They both openly claimed she'd been the one in actual danger. Not him. And if she was willing to forgive Harry for the danger she'd been in, then the least he could do was accept her offer of companionship. Nor would they hear anything Harry said to disagree with them about the matter. Not even the mentioning of Colin's name had made them retract that foolish statement. Dumbledore had told them the basilisk had only been a common variety snake and not even a poisonous one. Since Hermione believed she knew there were no poisonous snakes in Britain, she believed him and convinced both Ron and Ginny the Headmaster was right. So in their eyes, Harry had never been in danger of dying as Ginerva had been from the diary shade.

Neither paused to wonder how then Harry had destroyed said diary with a fang of a basilisk if said creature was only a common variety non-poisonous snake. Or how Colin had died from making eye contact with it if the snake was merely a harmless little gardener snake. Or how his scar on his arm was so large if the snake had been so very small. Just like neither of them bothered to remember Dumbledore hadn't actually been present in the Chamber and had even gone so far as to deny all year long that he knew the location of said Chamber. Let alone who was opening it or letting the Creature into the halls of the school to terrorize the student body. So how then had he known what kind of a snake Harry had come up against? But then they worshiped at the Altar of Dumbledore and his word was unquestionable to them.

Dumbledore had also hired Remus Lupin to be the instructor for the Dark Arts course since once again the school had lost their teacher in that subject before the former year was over. At least, Harry hadn't killed Lockhart. Indeed, he hadn't done anything at all to the fraud. Nor was it in any manner his fault the Fraud had been dragged into the end of the year conflict. Ron had selected him as the go-to teacher. Not Harry. Harry wouldn't have chosen such a useless fop to drag along if he'd had his choice in the matter. Of course, given Harry's feelings about the teaching population at the school and the fact he hadn't even wished to take part in the fiasco, Harry wouldn't actually have taken any of the staff down there with him and Ronald knew it. But Dumbledore had wanted the Fraud to be part of the end of the year event so Ron had made sure to grab him before getting Harry from his room. Harry could only wonder if this teacher would last the year and if not how would his contract be brought to an end.

Remus was a good teacher who taught at both a pace and a level his students could understand and enjoy while still learning. What Harry hadn't known until almost the end of the year was the connection between his father, Remus Lupin and the escaped convict who was supposedly out to finish the job he had begun twelve years earlier on the night Lord Voldemort had attacked the Potter family.

Of course, the only reason he found out was because Sirius Black got impatient and attacked Ron on their way back to the Castle from Hagrid's cabin where they had gone at Hermione's insistence, to comfort Hagrid due to the upcoming execution of his semi-pet, Buckbeak. Hagrid had picked up Scabbers, Ron's rat, earlier that day when he had found it scavenging in the Forest and brought it back to his cabin. He'd checked the rat over and fed it but wanted to keep it under observation for a day since it wasn't looking too good to Hagrid's animal loving gaze before sending a message to Ron telling him he had something that belonged to him.

As they were walking back to the castle, Sirius, in his Grim form, had attacked Ron trying to pry the rat out of Ron's grip. Ron refused to let it go so Sirius had dragged the bellowing boy by a pant leg and his robes into the shelter of the Whomping Willow so he could transform and try to convince Ron to give him the rat. Harry, who still hadn't managed to convince himself Ronald really wasn't his friend, and Hermione had chased after the pair. Both of them were determined to stop any harm from befalling Ron. Once again, Harry had gotten drawn into risking his own neck over an endangered student. Upon seeing Sirius facing Ron in that room, Harry had given Hermione a scathing look which she either didn't see or chose to ignore because she was focused on Ron. But he knew the only reason he had to deal with this was because she'd insisted on comforting Hagrid in his hour of need and dragging Harry and Ron alone for the ride.

Remus Lupin claimed he had heard the ruckus and came running in a few seconds after Sirius regained his human form so he could talk to the three teens. The day after the event, while he was supposed to be on lockdown in the infirmary, Harry had been spying on Dumbledore's office via the use of his special cloak. He discovered Dumbledore called Remus up there for a full report on what had occurred. Harry knew it was mainly to see if there was anything he could hold against Harry in the future though there was a possibility that Remus was unaware of that. Remus had used the Marauders Map to see Sirius and Peter were with Harry, Ron and Hermione and that was why he had shown up when he did. Hearing that, Harry had snuck down to his rooms and stolen back his map because there was no way he'd let that fall into the Headmaster's hands.

But when Lupin had shown up in the quarters under the Willow, Harry hadn't known any of that. Chaos had ensued until Harry, who's head was spinning from the volume of noise he wasn't at all used to any more, bellowed for quiet. Then one by one he had Sirius, Ron and Remus tell their stories. Hermione, for once, had remained quiet just observing as Harry listened to each of the others.

In the end, all four of the other people in the room were looking to Harry for a decision as to how things would play out. Would he believe Ron that Scabbers was really just a normal rat? Would he believe Sirius that Scabbers was the true betrayer of the Potter family that Halloween night? Or would he believe Remus that Sirius had betrayed James, Lily and Harry himself before chasing after Peter and killing him as well? And was now taking the opportunity to try and add Harry to his kill list.

Harry decided there was a sure fire way to prove who was telling the truth and that was by letting Remus and Sirius try to break any animagus spell they claimed was on the rat if it really was Peter. If it broke, then Sirius was telling the truth provided the person the rat became turned out to be the long thought deceased Peter Pettigrew. If it didn't break though. Then it seemed Sirius had a problem with rats and Remus would take him out to meet a Ministry official for the carrying out of his sentence. Naturally, Ronald was angry that Harry hadn't just automatically taken his side because in his eyes this proved Harry wasn't as loyal to Ron as Ron pretended to be to Harry.

They had just found Sirius was telling the truth when Professor Snape, the teacher who hated everything Potter, (which was how Harry knew for certain the man not only could but would hold a grudge for every wrong done him whether real or imagined), came barging into the room sneering, snarling and foaming at the mouth about how he had them dead to rights this time and this time he'd see to it they all paid. Dumbledore wouldn't be able to make excuses for them this time and he'd finally succeed in getting Harry bloody Potter expelled for all his sins. There would be no more children harassed and bullied or hurt by a Potter in Hogwarts. In addition, he'd see justice served against Sirius Black. And Lupin as well since it was clear Lupin had been in touch with the fugitive. Sirius Black would die by dementors kiss before the night was out if he had any say in things and since he had them at wand point clearly he did have a say in things.

For the first time in his life, Harry could honestly say he got angry. Not just a little angry but really angry. Not only was he sick and tired of dealing with the man's rabid insistence that Harry was some kind of evil person he owed it to the world to suppress by being a first rate, abusive arsehole but he was frustrated that it always seemed to come down to him to be the damned adult while the real adults acted like the spoilt little brat they so often accused him of being. He was sick and tired of always being the one to have to save the blasted day. It was more than clear to Harry that the Potions Professor wasn't listening to a word that was being said or paying the slightest bit of attention to what was going on in the room. All he saw was a way to get revenge against those he hated beyond measure and who cared what the truth was.

Peter Pettigrew was the first to realize Harry's temper had snapped. He'd stopped begging for mercy during Snape's gloating and begun staring at Harry with wide fearful eyes. Lupin, Hermione and Ron were also staring at Harry with wide -eyes while Sirius was carefully moving away from them all. All of them seemed to be very aware of exactly how angry the repressed boy was. Peter stood stock still not even daring to whimper lest it fix the angry boy's attention on himself. His mouth was moving but not a sound escaped. He was forming the word Lily over and over again because in that moment in time, Harry Potter proved once and for all he was more his mother's son than his father's.

Naturally, Harry lashed out at Snape unconsciously putting three years worth of pent-up anger and resentment into the spell he unleashed in his direction. He'd completely forgotten his wand was in his hand but it wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't. When angry, Harry Potter was a force to be reckoned with and only a fool wanted to get him angry. He only hit the teacher with an expelliarmus to disarm him but because he was angry over the whole mess, his magic overwhelmed the poor man and succeeded in knocking him out cold. And Snape never knew what hit him at all. He was so focused on the Marauders he never realized he had finally goaded Harry into losing his temper.

Hermione's jaw had dropped at the sheer power evident in that single spell. The spell beam was so wide and clear she could actually see it. She just stood there staring at Harry with wide unseeing eyes as she struggled to comprehend it.

Remus had gulped, quietly murmuring, "Just like Lily. Just like Lily." as he moved back to stand next to Sirius who was whimpering quietly while muttering, "Danger Will Robinson. Danger," over and over again.

Ron simply grinned because once again Harry had slammed a Slytherin and Ron hated all Slytherins.

But Peter was a different story. In the chaos that followed, Peter saw his chance for freedom and took it, reverting back to his animagus form as he ran to better enable his escape. At that moment he was more afraid of Harry than he ever had been of the Dark Lord. Reality was, there was no way he was willing to take the chance that Harry would turn his awesome power on the true betrayer of his family now that he had incapacitated Snape. Pettigrew was a coward. Plain and simple. But even he had known in that one perfect second he truly deserved Harry's anger and righteous revenge. Which Harry was more than capable of delivering.

His escape had snapped Sirius out of his awed terror. Roaring in outrage, Sirius tore off after him, determined not to let him get away again. Which snapped Remus back to awareness. Remus ran after Sirius, just as determined not to allow any harm to befall Sirius now that he knew his friend was innocent of the charges against him.

Ronald had torn off after all three of them, determined to rescue his pet and show Scabbers even if he was a deranged murderer he could still have a home with him if he wanted it. Harry and Hermione had taken off after Ron, determined to talk some sense into the redhead before he got caught up in a fight twelve years in the making.

Harry had paused just long enough to taken possession of his family heirloom as he didn't trust Snape to return it to him voluntarily. He knew the man would keep it as some sort of prize for all he believed Potter men had done to him during his life. As was his habit long ago learned living with the Dursley family, not even Hermione had seen him secrete the cloak on his person.

But once they stepped outside under the light of the full moon, another problem became immediately clear to all three of the teenagers and it was here that Harry would finally begin learn of Hermione's duplicity over the course of the year. Her own actions added to the words she'd use in a few more hours would tell him everything he needed to know but had refused to see about his brainiac friend.

Severus Snape had told the truth about one thing at least. Remus Lupin had proven to be highly irresponsible. He'd neglected to take his potion and as a result, he lost control over his mind when he transformed into his werewolf state. The werewolf he became once a month was in control and that werewolf wanted blood. Fresh human blood preferably. Powerful human blood. And Harry fit the bill perfectly.

At the time, Harry had failed to see how Hermione wasn't as surprised by this transformation as she should've been for a muggleborn and raised girl and was actively using Harry for her own protection as was Ronald. As if either of them could realistically shelter effectively behind a boy who was smaller in body mass and height than either of them.

But once again Professor Snape saved Harry's life when the werewolf turned on him. And there was no doubt in Harry's mind Lupin had turned on Harry personally. The wolf hadn't even noticed anyone else was there as was evidenced by the fact Snape was able to send him reeling with a punch to the jaw gaining enough space to get between Harry and Lupin. Considering werewolves were a hell of a lot stronger than normal people, this said everything that needed to be said about the focus of Lupin's werewolf form. Or maybe just how physically strong Severus Snape was when he was angry and panicking. And he had been panicking.

As much as Snape hated Harry, he apparently didn't want him to die or be turned into some kind of a monster. From the safety of Snape's arms, Harry had looked up and seen the fear and horror in the teacher's black eyes. Horror, he knew had to have been clearly evident in his own eyes and expression as well.

But his mind had finally absorbed all it could handle. Harry was deep in shock and all he could do was stand there clutching his teacher's robes and hoping the protection his teacher offered would be enough to save them. Softly and quietly, he was begging his Mum to do something to save them but he was unaware of it at the time. Snape had later told him he rather thought Lily had heard him and sent Sirius back to distract Lupin. He hadn't even felt it when the man puled him closer and pushed his head into his own chest to break the eye contact. Nor did he realize that eye contact had been the reason Snape had pulled him closer. Because even Snape knew Harry had his mother's eyes and at that close of a range he couldn't hide from them. Even if he'd wanted to.

Ron supposedly had a broken leg from Sirius's attempt to get Scabbers from him. Looking backwards through time, Harry had his doubts about that, since that same supposedly broken leg hadn't prevented the redhead from chasing after the three Marauders at a full run over rough, broken terrain that included stairs needing to be climbed, crawling on hands and knees and edging around partial cave-ins and dangling tree roots before Remus turned into the werewolf. Harry and Hermione, who both had healthy unbroken limbs, hadn't managed to catch up to him until they emerged from under the Whomping Willow where werewolf Remus was waiting for them.

If his leg had truly been broken there was no way he could've made that trip without Harry, who was very small, nimble and fleet of foot regardless of the involved terrain, catching up to him before then. Harry had suffered more than a few broken bones in his lifetime and he knew damn well one did not run on a broken leg if one didn't need to. And chasing something after your pet rat wasn't reason enough to run on a broken leg no matter how poor your family was. Or how possessive you were about things you claimed as belonging to yourself.

Hermione was supposedly just as deeply shocked as Harry. And maybe that was actually the truth. After all, knowing in your head something was true wasn't quite the same thing as coming face to face with it. Like Harry, she was muggle raised and for muggles, werewolves, vampires and other creatures of the night belonged in horror picture shows. Mostly B rated ones. Yet here they were being presented with a real live werewolf up close and personal with no director to yell "Cut" when he got to the point of biting one of them. Neither of them could think of what to do to save themselves. Harry was just too unable to handle any more shocks at that time to notice Hermione wasn't quite as shocked as she should've been. Nor had she been watching Lupin. Instead, she had glued her sights on Harry and was observing his reaction to Lupin's transformation. There was a measure of glee in her expression but Harry was in no state at the time to notice it.

As much as Severus Snape hated Harry Potter, he'd never once mentioned that moment of weakness during the days that had followed the event. Or how he had folded his own arms around the boy drawing him closer still and smothering the distressed sounds Harry was making as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing. Nor had he ever commented on the low voiced humming he was doing to try and calm Harry down. Nor had he ever mentioned his ruined robes and the two sets of five very obvious claw made rips in the black fabric gained when Lupin had grabbed onto them preparing to rip him away from Harry.

Sirius had abandoned the chase for Peter and come roaring back to save his friend from further attacking the children, knowing Remus well enough to know if he hurt any of them he'd never forgive himself even if they did. Which considering they'd either be dead or turned, they probably wouldn't. Together, the Grim Dog and Werewolf took off into the Forbidden Forest to chase each other and hopefully run across the rat Sirius wanted to find more than anything else in the world. Just as they'd done long ago when they themselves had been students walking the Hogwarts Halls.

Harry had no illusions as to the reason Sirius had abandoned the chase of Scabbers to come distract Remus. He never did have any. Even then he'd known Sirius only did so because Remus was his friend and Remus wouldn't have been able to live with himself knowing he'd hurt someone while in his cursed state.

Snape had waited only for the duo to clear the open area before hustling all three teens back towards the Castle and it's relative safety. Due to his supposedly broken leg, Ron had to be carried there via magic but both Harry and Hermione walked there under their own power. Snape kept a tight grip on the back of Harry's neck as if he expected him to go harrying off after the others at any second. He didn't seem to notice Harry was sticking as close as he could to the Potion Master's side, practically trying to hide himself in the billowing material of his robes or that Harry had a death grip on the material of Snape's own billowing robes. But Harry had noticed he didn't touch either Hermione or Ron, choosing to use magic to transport Ron and bark at Hermione to follow them to the safety of the Castle. This was far different from the way he chose to treat Harry since he kept a grip on the neck of his robes insuring Harry didn't wander far from his side. Maybe he'd realize Harry was the only one of the three that actually was in shock and needed the human contact most. Harry didn't know and hadn't asked. Because he didn't care. Then or now.

All three teens spent the night in the infirmary. Ronald was treated for his supposedly broken leg and given a sleeping potion when Madam Pomfrey got tired of his loud, angry accusations against Harry. It was very clear Ron blamed Harry for the loss of his pet, Scabbers. He claimed Harry hadn't defended Scabbers as he should've. But instead, had turned his pet over to an escaped convict. An escaped convict who openly admitted he wanted to kill the rat. He was so angry over what he saw as Harry's betrayal, the fact that their defense teacher was apparently a monster in human skin took a backseat to everything else. And he was determined to wring an apology from Harry for failing to be a real friend to him. He wouldn't get it.

Hermione was treated, like Harry, for shock and allowed to fall asleep under the effects of a slightly less powerful sleep aid than Ron had been given once she had told the story from her point of view. And it was while he was listening to her tell her story, that Harry had finally come to the conclusion she was no more his friend than Ronald. She told the story succinctly, not sparing anyone in the telling. Her voice was cold and analytical during the rendition of the night but Harry had to admit she had hit all the high points in her telling.

Of course, she made it a point to mention it was Harry and only Harry who had attacked and knocked out Professor Snape. She claimed she told him to knock out Pettigrew and Black as well but he didn't listen to her. Which was a lie since she'd said no such thing. No one bothered to point out she had her wand on her and if she really thought those two should be knocked out there was nothing stopping her from doing it herself. They weren't on staff here and didn't have permission to be on the grounds.

She also neglected to mention the only reason they were outside of the Castle after hours was because _she_ had bullied the boys into visiting Hagrid to sit the vigil with him over Buckbeak who was to be executed that evening. Rather, she allowed her listeners to draw the conclusion that Harry had wished to visit and offer comfort to the grieving half-giant. While not outright lying about the matter, she was freely lying by inference and a cynical part of Harry's mind knew it was only so, if there was to be trouble over the incident, it would be Harry who would be blamed. Not her.

Then it was Harry's turn to be interrogated. And it was an interrogation. There was no other word for it as he was asked the same questions over and over again with slightly different wording to see if he would in any manner change his answers at all. Unlike Hermione though, Harry did make it a point to mention the only reason any of them had been outside the Castle that evening was due to her nagging. Funnily enough even Ronald, who had yet to take his sleep aide had confirmed that statement. Of course, there were the by now expected accusations of blame and the lecture on responsibility and not behaving as a spoilt brat since he'd been told he wasn't supposed to be outside the safety and security of the Castle. Especially after dark. It was strongly implied he had endangered his friends because he was selfishly feeling confined and wanted to rebel. Thanks to Hermione none of his interrogators had listened to him at all.

But Harry felt no guilt for anything that had happened that night. He knew it hadn't been his idea to leave the Castle. Hermione had browbeat him into it, pointing out that Hagrid was supposed to be his friend. One of his only friends. And since something bad was occurring that night involving Hagrid, it was his duty to be with him when he could regardless of his own personal safety. Because that's what friends did. He said as much which was confirmed by her flush of embarrassed anger. Not that it did him any good. None of his accusers so much as twitched a brow in her direction. Instead, Dumbledore had frowned at him with a disappointed air and made a non-committal comment about not trying to shift blame where it didn't belong.

He admitted to following Ron into the rooms under the Whomping Willow to prevent injury from befalling either of his two friends. And he admitted to forcing Ron to allow Professor Lupin and Sirius to use the anti-animagus spell on the rat which had prompted a lecture on respecting and protecting the belongings of others wherever and whenever he had the opportunity to do so. That his intention had been to settle the matter once and for all was lost in the ensuing lecture about property ownership and the duty of friendship. He admitted to hitting Professor Snape with an Expelliarmus spell to disarm him though he insisted he hadn't meant to hurt or knock him out. All he wanted to do was lower the animosity in the room and get the Professor to take in the full situation since he clearly hadn't yet realized there was a supposedly dead man standing there very much alive in the room. Then the Professor could make the decisions.

Madam Pomfrey made the Ministry representative and Dumbledore both leave him alone after twenty minutes of their constant and repetitive questioning. She force fed him a very powerful sleep aid that, unknown to Harry, Severus made specifically for her to give him. She knew well of his trouble with sleeping and his built-up resistance to most the sleep aids on the market. So she had enlisted Severus to make her a better aid for him. Nor had she missed the dead quality of Harry's voice as he told the story from his point of view. A story that hadn't wavered a bit no matter what his interrogators said to try and force it to change. The child needed rest and she was determined to see that he got some.

Snape had raised a brow when he saw which potion she intended to give Potter but she had refused to satisfy his curiosity so long as the others were in the room. Like everyone else in the school, she was well aware of his dislike of everything Potter and how anything the man could hold against him, he gladly taunted the boy with repeatedly. And yet, she was also aware of just how many times Snape had saved the boy's life and fought with Dumbledore over the risks he encouraged the child to take with his personal safety.

Morning light brought the news that all three of the Marauders were dead or as good as dead now. Supposedly their bodies were found tangled together on the shores of Black Lake where apparently they had stood together one last time to fight a common foe but that foe had apparently been stronger than they were. But Harry knew for a fact Remus Lupin was not dead. He had after all, heard him reporting the events of the confrontation between Harry and Sirius. And he couldn't have done that if he had died on the shores of the lake. Not unless he'd come back as a ghost. Which unlike Colin who often kept Harry company in his room when no one was speaking to him, he hadn't.

At the time Harry had believed both Sirius and Peter most likely were dead simply because they had become a liability to Dumbledore now and he had no proof to the contrary. Later he would discover Peter wasn't dead any more than Lupin was. And that would make him wonder about Sirius. After all, if Dumbledore was the source of the rumor, which in this case for Harry he was, it was almost guaranteed to be at least partially untrue. He'd come into the infirmary to personally give Harry the news that his Godfather whom he'd just met the night before was as good as dead along with his two friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. He spun some tripe about how all the Marauders were now together again in Heaven where they'd be watching over him hoping he'd do the right thing when he came to times in his life where choices had to be made and take his rightful blame when he made the wrong choices.

According to school rumor Peter's form showed clear damage from long jagged teeth and nails while Sirius had been given the Kiss by the dementors. The official story was both Remus Lupin and Sirius Black had administered their own justice to Peter for his betrayal of them all those years ago. Sirius' body showed slight bruising and a few shallow cuts though overall he had relatively little clear cut damage suggesting that while Peter got a few licks in he hadn't been able to hurt Sirius enough to effect his freedom. It also suggested the cause of his death was the dementors that were suspiciously missing from their posts around the Castle Grounds.

Harry was allowed to recover in the infirmary and deal with the new deaths away from prying eyes and stupid questions for two days before he was summarily teleported back to Privet Drive early as punishment for his attack against Professor Snape. He wasn't expelled but he had been suspended. And even Harry knew that was because he wouldn't change his story to accept all the blame for each little wrongdoing of the night. Hermione and Ronald had the remaining two weeks of school to make sure everyone knew the story of the night though and how Harry Potter had figured into the mess. No one would ever know he hadn't stayed locked down in the infirmary for those two days. Not even Madam Pomfrey knew he had slipped out to go spy on the old man. Or go steal back his map.

 **Author Note: Please review and remember I told you up front these are not the canon characters. My characters are based on certain personality traits the canon characters displayed or events that occurred in canon but could have been taken another way. I am not bashing Ms. Rawlings work. I am merely creating my own using her setting and the people she populated it with. Only a couple more background chapters to go and we'll be caught up to present time. I know they're boring but in this story they're necessary.**


	4. Summer After Third Year

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. Those characters are hers to play with. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long and already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Four: Summer after Third Year

Harry had spent the summer thinking and re-examining what he now knew about everything. Reluctantly, he came to the conclusion that the Dursley men were right. He had no friends and never would have any. Ron and Hermione were clearly keeping other students at arms length while they allowed only those they liked or who were most like themselves in their intent to be around him to get close to him. Example; Ginerva but not the twin Weaselys. Just in case Harry see through their charade of friendship by discovering what true friendship was really like. And with the games Dumbledore kept setting up for him every year and the way he was under isolation restriction, Harry didn't have either the time or the heart to try and make any real friends. Not any more. He had tried over and over again and at two different schools in two vastly different worlds. Friends, like family, seemed to be something he was just destined not to have.

His Aunt and Uncle had watched him muddle through things for about two weeks trying their usual bluster and spitting their hatred at him but getting little to no response from him in return. Finally, Petunia had asked him what was going on. He had tried not to tell her, figuring she really didn't want to know since she hated the world of magic so very much and it would be impossible to tell her anything without using terms and words that had long been forbidden in this household. While she might enjoy knowing that world saw him the same way she did, she definitely wouldn't appreciate him using words off her personal forbidden list to tell her.

But she'd insisted one too many times and he'd finally lost control and yelled at her. He was so miserable his temper was too close to the breaking point to prevent it snapping. So he yelled at her as he never had before. Yelled in rage and pain so intense, she'd never experienced the like of it before. He'd stood there in the kitchen, his hands bunched into tight fists at his side and eyes bright with an inner fire that they'd never seen before. Electricity audibly crackled between the spikes and curls of his wild and out-of-control hair shooting off visible sparks as his magic responded to his rage. His body was shaking with the strength of his emotions and the effort he was exerting in trying to keep his control over them, as he yelled and screamed at her. She watched in both awe and terror, finally coming to understand just how repressed he actually was and how very much he was keeping bottled up inside him lest someone do him harm for daring to feel something they didn't believe he should.

Tears had finally broken through his walls to pour from his eyes. But he was unaware as he unleashed over a decade of forced suppression, rage, pain and bitter disappointment. With her. Her family. The neighbors here. His so-called friends. The school. And the world. Harry Potter was angry at and disappointed with everyone. She had simply stood opposite of him and listened to his tale. Not once did she even attempt to interrupt him or discipline him for his language or for yelling and crying, which had long ago been forbidden him in this house.

Honestly, he was so hurt and angry, she could do nothing but listen as he poured out the story of the last three years and all the deaths he felt responsible for just because he existed. Just because the adults had decided he didn't have the right to be alive at all. He told her she should be happy now that she knew the Wizarding World saw him as worthless too. Just like her, they thought his life had no merit and was theirs to waste in any way they saw fit. Just like her, they thought he should've died that night when his parents had died and since he hadn't, he'd no right to complain if they chose to send him in against a madman or two that they didn't want to deal with themselves. Or even a monster or two unprepared and unarmed. After all, who the hell would miss him if he didn't survive whatever they were too damn scared to face themselves? For certain, she sure as hell wouldn't since one of the first things he could ever remember hearing her tell him was to go die somewhere and leave her the hell alone. Hell, she'd probably throw a party if she got a notice he'd died over there. Then go on a vacation just to make sure she'd celebrated the event correctly.

She flinched as she heard those words because she could see now how very much she had hurt him with them and knew from the things she'd said over the years he had every reason to believe she'd see his death that way. She wouldn't. But he didn't know that. But hearing him repeat those words about dying in a ditch somewhere. Words she knew she'd told him. The very fact that he remembered them told her she had hurt him. She also remembered that incident and knew he hadn't deserved it. He'd been five and was telling her Dudley needed new art supplies for school because he knew Dudley would forget to tell her. And the teacher would get mad at Dudley for not having them which would upset Dudley. And an upset Dudley was always bad for Harry and expensive for Petunia. But she'd been in a bad mood and had taken it out on him. Because that's what her family did.

He ranted and raved and never noticed his Uncle and Cousin standing in the doorway listening to every pain filled word of condemnation, self-hatred and over-whelming sorrow. Old wounds they'd never realized they'd given him poured from his mouth in an angry tirade impossible to stop or deny. Because Harry's magic was making all three Dursleys remember just when said wounds had been given. He never even noticed when he collapsed on the floor in a huddled heap, bawling his eyes out still muttering the words of poison that had been festering inside his psyche for all these years. So deep in his misery he had forgotten where he was. His Uncle had picked him up and for once carried him gently to his bed when it was clear he wasn't going to make it there on his own.

From that day on, his relatives attitude towards him changed. Petunia made sure he ate at least twice a day and Vernon only gave him make work to do to keep his hands busy while his mind tried to deal with all the crap that had been thrown at him that even adults would've quailed at dealing with. Dudley just left him alone, as his parents had told him to, and found other things to do with himself that didn't include tormenting his cousin. He still didn't like Harry and chances were he never would but the torment Harry was dealing with from his school was far more than anything Dudley and his crew could do to him. So he left him alone and kept his friends from adding to his burden for the rest of the summer.

For his part, Harry once again took an unscheduled trip to Diagon Alley to visit the bookstores and purchase new reading material. This time he wasn't researching any previous events or creatures. Or even the laws of the magical society. This year all he was looking for was material to learn that could derail his thinking processes enough to let him rest. He got books on runes and warding as well as spellcrafting and arithemancy. He knew he wasn't taking those classes but the subject matter interested him. Heck, warding and spell crafting weren't even available at Hogwarts.

He also paid a visit to the bank to discover exactly what his financial standing was and whether or not he had enough funds to actually get through Hogwarts and set himself up somewhere after graduation. He'd discovered he had inherited the Black Estate from Sirius because Sirius had named him as heir after he'd been named as Harry's godfather when Harry had been born. Which only confirmed Sirius truly was deceased. That had also led to the revelation of his status as heir to the Potter estate and the little known status as heir to the old and all but forgotten estate of the Evansleigha accounts.

Those accounts had come to him via his mother because the Evans line was a squib line established around the turn of the century. A daughter of the Evansleigha family had been injured in an accident depriving her of most her magical core. Because the injury had occurred during her act of saving the son and heir to the line she was repaid by having her name formally changed and the new name added to the family line.

His visit had also uncovered his connection to both Godric Gryffindor and Ignotus Peverell though there wasn't much of anything to be claimed from them. Harry already had the cloak and had made use of the sword though he didn't possess it. When he was old enough he could claim their seats in the Wizengamot chambers. But those were all that was left of their former Estates. He did however claim the rings that went with both old names. Just as he claimed all the other heir rings for the estates he was heir to. That each ring had protections woven into it so as to protect the heir who wore it was only a bonus as far as Harry was concerned.

But the one thing Harry now knew beyond any doubt was that he could easily afford to finish his schooling and take care of himself after graduation. It no longer mattered what happened during his remaining school years. He had the financial ability to disappear as soon as he finished school and nothing anyone said or did could change it. And that was exactly what he planned to do.

 **Author Note: Please review and remember I told you up front these are not the canon characters. My characters are based on certain personality traits the canon characters displayed or events that occurred in canon but could have been taken another way. I am not bashing Ms. Rawlings work. I am merely creating my own using her setting and the people she populated it with. Only a couple more background chapters to go and we'll be caught up to present time. I know they're boring but in this story they're necessary. I hope you're enjoying the story so far.**


	5. Fourth Year

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long and already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Five: Fourth Year

Fourth year, Harry went back to Hogwarts in a more settled frame of mind. He knew his life was in danger here and that any wrong move could easily destroy him but he had a plan now. A tentative plan but still a plan for his future. And that was better than he'd ever had before.

While he didn't openly acknowledge the betrayal of Ron and Hermione, nor did he encourage them to continue playing the 'We're your friends, Harry. You can talk to us and tell us anything' game they had been playing for the last three years. A game that had only resulted in getting Harry hurt when something he'd said or hinted at had come back to haunt him from someone who shouldn't have known anything about it. This year, much to their chagrin, Harry said very little to either of them of a personal nature. And of course, he was still doing his absolute best to ignore the stalker girl they insisted on forcing him to deal with. He was no longer lying to himself about their trustworthiness.

This year, since the Ministry had backed off, Dumbledore had re-instituted his Greater Good game again. The school would play host to the Tri-Wizard Tournament, a practice that had been disbanded over a hundred years ago due to the high death rate of the participants in it. Hogwarts would host the student candidates and their headmasters from the two other European premier schools of magic.

Since the rules said one had to be seventeen to enter the contest, Harry had at first breathed a sigh of relief. His relief lasted only long enough for him to realize with Dumbledore involved it didn't matter that he was three years too young. Dumbledore would find a way to get him involved anyway since all his ploys were about testing Harry to begin with. Testing him in ways that could conceivably lead to his death.

And he was correct. When the names came out of the Goblet of Fire almost everyone was shocked, surprised and angry to hear Harry Potter announced as the fourth candidate in the _Tri_ -Wizard Tournament. Almost everyone was. Dumbledore quickly hid a smug smirk under a heavy frown and a worried look so that no one would ever suspect he was pleased with this turn of events. Likewise the new defense teacher, because once again Remus Lupin hadn't lasted out the year to return this year, also hid a smirk that could only be described as pleasurable.

Potions Master Severus Snape though was anything but pleased. He was furious. Not quite frothing at the mouth furious but still furious enough for his magic to get involved, setting his robes to rippling gently in a breeze that wasn't actually there. He'd snapped his head up so fast to glare in Harry's direction, he set his hair to swinging like a black oily curtain in the man-made breeze the motion had generated. Then he turned a fierce look onto Dumbledore but he was too late to see the pleased look Dumbledore had hidden under his heavy frown.

Ron had acted predictably. He was furious and accused Harry of being nothing but a glory hog. He re-instituted the slurs against Harry right then and there, bringing back the lapel pins saying 'Flush the Potter' and lambasted Harry at every chance he was given. A pin he'd immediately produced from his pocket and placed on the breast pocket of his school robes, telling Harry louder than words, Ron had known Harry's name would come out of the goblet when he'd come down for dinner.

Once again, he had Harry driven off the Quitditch team and out of the tower as a trustworthy and dishonorable Gryffindor. Not that Harry had actually been in the tower at all. He was a Gryffindor in name only as once again Dumbledore had refused McGonagal's request to move him back into his proper dormitory. She'd tried because once again the end of the year events had shown Harry to not be at fault or of any particular danger to his fellow students. But this year, not even she'd been surprised when Dumbledore refused to consider it. She knew by now he had his own reasons for wanting the boy isolated from his peers and the yearly trials only helped him to achieve those ends.

Once again, Harry found himself isolated from his fellow students and classmates. Only this time he didn't have the benefit of teacher escorts to his classes or showers. He took to taking showers late at night with the help of Mr. Filch or the house-elves to guard his back as he did so because it wasn't safe for him to do so at any other time. And what free time he had outside of classes he spent in the Library reading anything he could lay his hands on whether it had to do with his classes and homework or not.

Madam Pomfrey became used to seeing him when he'd come to her for healing salve or treatment for injuries he wouldn't tell her the cause of. She didn't lecture him on them or even attempt to claim he deserved them. She just treated whatever brought him to her and sent him on his way with a gentle word to be more careful though both of them knew there was nothing he could do. The school was once again against him and the students were determined to make him suffer while the staff turned a blind eye to what was happening.

Because of his frequent need for potions or ointments, he began to brush up on his brewing capabilities. Really brush up on them instead of just reading the books and taking notebooks full of notes on what he read. Now he had a need to learn at least the medical brews and so he devoted all his time out of the classroom to becoming skilled enough to make what he needed. And this is when he figured out Hermione couldn't have possibly brewed the Polyjuice in their second year. He'd let the practical side of the subject slide figuring it was a waste of his time trying to succeed in the class when the teacher was dead set against it. So he truly hadn't realized it before. But now he realized just reading about the subject and learning the different recipes in no way made you competent enough to just go brew any given potion you wished. Especially not a sixth year level potion when you were barely a second year. Which only confirmed Hermione was just as much a liar as Dumbledore was and therefore just as untrustworthy.

But as his skill improved, his visits to the infirmary tapered off. Not for a second did he see it as having a lack of trust in the skill or the trustworthiness of the Madam. She was as trustworthy as any other adult he'd met though she'd never refused him the services of her job. He just saw no reason to go to her for healing when for all he knew she was reporting each and every injury right back to his enemies so they would know exactly how well they were succeeding in hurting him. To him, people had clearly shown that no matter their age or station in life they weren't trustworthy where he was concerned. All anyone wanted, as far as he could tell, was his pain. The more pain the better. So it only made sense to him, to rely on others as little as possible. Just as he'd learned to doctor his own injuries in early childhood so as not to bother his relatives with the injuries life with them gave him, he learned to do so now. He'd made a vow during the summer to try to never rely on another ever again if he could help it. And this was something he knew he could do. He'd ben doing it for years already.

Harry spent a great deal of his free time in the library researching spells and potions while trying to ignore the hate that permeated the school whenever he was nearby. He grew quieter than he had ever been while at Hogwarts before and the only person he spoke to was the Librarian when there was no one else in the room to overhear or Madam Pomfrey when he was injured in a manner he couldn't heal by himself. Occasionally, he spoke to Argus the custodian or the house-elves when he just wasn't up to facing the Great Hall for a meal or just needed a shower. Because in his life experience, Librarians and custodians were safe people being people who were nearly invisible to the masses. Healers, not so much since they had a tendency to be nosy about the injuries they were called upon to treat. But Madam Pomfrey never asked any questions so Harry went to her when he needed to. When his current skill level wasn't enough for his injuries.

For the first time since he had arrived here, he dropped his mask of normalcy. He no longer cared what the other kids or even the teachers thought of him. None of them could see the real him anyway and none of them could see how hard the Headmaster was working to get him killed. Nor could any of them see his so-called friends were really just enemies in disguise.

He took to sitting by himself at the back of his classrooms and got used to once again being ignored by his teachers. Nor did he even attempt to take part in any of the classes he was attending. And the teachers did their part to help him fade away from the collective by never calling upon him or remarking on his performance in their practicals. For once, he didn't worry as to whether he had earned the high marks on his homework assignments or exams as he no longer received any high marks. Instead, he worried as to whether the work was really as shoddy as his constant 'T' and 'D' marks indicated it was. And the last thing that ever occupied his mind was the Tri-Wizard now turned Quad-Wizard Tournament.

Instead, he found himself telling Hedwig his plans to just allow what would happen to happen and not fight any more. If the world wanted him dead this badly, he'd comply. Surely his parents would be happy to see him when he left this world behind. Why should he wish to stay in a world that so clearly only wanted to see how much pain, torment and torture he could stand before he died anyway? He hadn't ever had anything that made living worthwhile and he was damn tired of trying to find something he could hold onto and believe in. He wanted to go home to his Mum because at least he knew she had loved him.

He wasn't depressed. He'd left depression behind a long time ago. Now he was angry. Angry at a world that refused to accept him as he was. Angry at people who treated him like a hero one minute and condemned him as a criminal the next. Only to follow that by treating him like a lab rat in the hours that followed. A world that had no respect for him at all. That treated his every move as something they had a right to critique for hidden motives and/or punish him for things they thought he shouldn't have done. Or things they thought he should've done but didn't. A world that gave him no privacy and did it's best to deny his humanity while loudly lambasting him for every mistake whether real or imagined.

And bitter. Bitter because no matter how hard he had tried to be a good person, no one cared. No one had ever appreciated his efforts to help them. To be there for them when they needed someone. Bitter because even those he'd thought of as friends were really just enemies in sheep's wool. He'd saved people from certain death and not a single one had ever thanked him for it. They'd taken it for granted that of course he'd save them. They deserved it. Because they were worthy people. Worthy of his efforts and sacrifices. Yet they gave him nothing. Nothing worth having. What they gave in return was only what they themselves didn't want. Would never want. Pain and misery. And of course accusations that called into question what he'd really been trying to do to them even as what he did saved them from what was endangering them at the time.

And he was tired. Tired of always having to be on his guard. Tired of never knowing who could be trusted or when to trust someone. Tired of being used as a punching bag or a scapegoat for crimes he hadn't, and wouldn't have, committed even if he'd been asked. Tired of having to explain himself over things he hadn't done or that had occurred long before he had even been born. Tired of watching for the hand that held the knife to be shoved in his back this time. Tired of paying for sins not his own.

Snape still singled him out in Potions class to ridicule. He took more points from Harry than he did any other two students in the castle combined. But no one protested his treatment this year any more than they ever really had and Harry no longer cared either. He refused to rise to the challenge the snarky man was issuing. He didn't care if the man vanished his potion attempts or what Draco or his cronies threw into his cauldron to cause it to explode. Draco had the idea since Harry had caused him injury via an exploding cauldron it was his right to explode Harry's whenever he felt like it regardless of how the exploded potion would affect Harry once he was covered in it. And of course, Draco never got into trouble for doing so as Harry had. Just as he'd never been lectured for refusing Harry's apology for that long ago exploded potion. This year Harry didn't even try to make the potions correctly. Instead he used his lab time to experiment with the recipe of choice that day. Snape wouldn't ever accept anything Harry Potter did as being acceptable anyway. So there was no point in doing the assigned potion as it was assigned.

Draco soon lost his enjoyment of getting Potter detentions when Harry quit rising to the bait and simply looked at him without expression and cold, dead eyes covered in whatever they'd been told to brew that day. Never once did Harry cry out or even say a word no matter how painful the results of the explosion had to be. And sometimes even Draco knew he'd gone too far. That Harry was really injured by the explosion. Yet no one, including Harry, ever said a word. He'd just look at Draco with those cold, dead green eyes that silently asked if Draco was happy now. Did he feel avenged now? Feel superior because he'd trashed another's work? Caused them an injury?

Draco had never known the color green could be that cold before. Nor that so much could be conveyed simply by the eyes alone. But there was no doubt in his mind Harry Potter's eyes could. And did. It became clear to him his rival had changed. The Harry Potter in the school now was not the same boy he had declared as his rival when they were eleven. He didn't know how or why but he did know it was true. So he took to stalking the Gryffindor and observing his few interactions with people. He saw at once just why Harry had changed and decided he didn't like it. He saw why he couldn't get a reaction from his rival any more. Pain was something the Gryffindor Golden Boy was all too used to seeing as how he was being injured daily left, right and center by almost everyone in the Castle. Only the foreign students weren't actively trying to harm his rival.

Slowly, he got the rest of the Slytherins to back off by pointing out to them how the other students were doing all the work for them. Harry Potter was no longer the Prince of Hogwarts that he had been in previous years. He pointed out the treatment the boy was now receiving even from their teachers and told them, "If he doesn't kill himself outright, there's a damn good chance he'll allow this bloody tournament or any of our fellow students to do it for him. Merlin knows some of those so-called pranks he's getting hit with are deadly enough to do the trick." He didn't know it but Harry had heard him.

The first challenge was outsmarting a dragon to steal an egg that wasn't an egg from her nest. The creators of the challenge had made it as difficult as they could by choosing only first time nesting dragons because they had a reputation for being the most protective of their nests for the contest. And being in a foreign location not of their own choosing, they were doubly fierce and overly protective of their eggs. Added to that they had deliberately withheld their food from the mother dragons so they would be hungry as well as angry over the perceived threat to their young. Dragons were meat eaters and much larger than mere humans. So the contestants would be considered food for a hungry dragon. The coordinators wanted the dragons to be very hungry, upset and angry when the competitors entered the arena because they thought it would produce a better show for the spectators sitting safe and sound in the stands. They wanted a true gladiator style challenge for the audience to enjoy but an angry, starving lion wasn't quite gory enough for them. Mainly because they'd never seen a lion on the attack before and they'd certainly never seen a lion devouring it's kill. If they had, they'd have known lions would provide a lot more gore than any breed of dragon ever could. Harry was the last to go which didn't surprise him at all. Nor had it surprised him when he got the meanest breed of dragon there was.

He was, however, the best equipped to deal with an angry dragon seeing as how they were related to snakes and could understand the basics of the snake language. He simply told the dragon he was sorry to be entering her nesting area but he had no choice. He told her of the gladiator styled event to amuse the masses of bored out of pocket Romans of which she, her younglings and he were all victims. The purpose of the event was for him to retrieve the false egg that was invading her nest. She'd turned immediately to examine the stands full of booing and hissing spectators and the small table for the judges where they could see and hear everything the competitors did to win the challenge. Then she examined her nest, spotting the egg no dragon would ever have lain with no trouble at all.

Roaring in fury, and spitting small flames of outrage, she had immediately picked the egg out of her nest and dropped it on the ground well away from her precious offspring so they wouldn't be hurt when she destroyed the invader egg she hadn't laid. She then moved to stomp the egg to smithereens but Harry implored her to give it to him and let him deal with the matter. She used her tail to flip the golden egg over towards Harry who plucked it from the air just as he would a snitch and bowed to her before leaving the arena to catcalls, loud boos and jeering calls of what a coward he was not to fight the dragon for the egg as the other contestants had. The dragon, while standing hunched over her true offspring, showed an understanding of the event most people wouldn't credit her species with when she roared in anger and sent a burst of flames towards the stands that succeeded in quieting the spectators very effectively. The flames were stopped by the magical barrier put in place to protect the innocent. But still. They got the attention of the crowd well enough.

Harry didn't care what the stupid children, safe in the stands, thought of his tactics. He knew that a battle you didn't have to fight wasn't one you should fight. As any battle could end up costing you more than you were prepared to lose and quite frankly he'd already lost enough to stupid, pointless battles for the entertainment of the weak, quivering mass of cowards claiming superiority they did nothing to earn. He simply disappeared into the medical tent for his check-up as he was required by Tournament rules to do. The other three contestants were being treated for their injuries in the medical tent and though Harry had no injuries, he still had to go there before the event was considered over.

Madam Pomfrey gave him a once over and discovering him uninjured, let him go just as the tent flap was tossed aside to let his most frequent tormentors into the tent. All three of whom immediately started clamoring that they now believed he hadn't meant to enter the Tournament and someone must truly be trying to kill him as that event was so very dangerous. Harry ignored them all and walked out of the tent without a word to any of them.

He didn't see either Fleur Delacour, the French contestant, or Victor Krum, the Bulgarian competitor, sneering at the trio of Hogwarts students whom they knew had been targeting the boy and stirring up the student base against him ever since the drawing. Nor did he see their and Cedric Diggory's contemplative looks as they waited to see what he would do now that the three deigned to apologize to him for the way they'd been treating him. The two foreign students knew they wouldn't have accepted those apologies as they would've been suspicious of the motives behind them. And when he'd simply walked away without saying a word, he didn't see the satisfied expressions of the two foreigners or the frown of the Hogwart's champion. By doing what he did he'd just received the grudging admiration of his fellow contestants. Well Fleur and Victor's anyway. Cedric thought he'd cheated by using that evil talent of his. That plus the way he'd treated his friends condemned him as a person truly not worthy of respect. But then Cedric was a Hufflepuff and they always took people at face value. Never for a moment believing that doing so would only allow an enemy to stab you in the back when you were least expecting it or prepared to counter it.

But he also got the lowest score in the event since he didn't show the audience and judges any daring or false bravado and the audience hadn't liked his performance. Nor had he displayed any new talent or the outrageous growth in his magical power Hermione had spoken of in last years end of the year event so Dumbledore wasn't pleased either. Dumbledore tried to take him to task for once again using his unnatural talent to merely speak with the dragon as it had needlessly scared the audience. he'd chastised him for using such a dark skill as that so openly declaring Harry was allowing himself to be pulled into the dark arts which would only lead him down a road he didn't want to travel. And of course he lectured him over his unwillingness to forgive his friends for their simple misunderstanding of his entry into the contest. It was an honest mistake and Harry should forgive them because now they realized the truth and were willing to be his friends again. Harry ignored him. Once again, Harry didn't care.

Christmas time brought a new horror with the Yule Ball event at which each champion was required to bring a date of their choice to open the Ball. This was a public meet and greet event meant to build ties between the competing nations that could be used to strengthen their international relationship in other areas. Harry didn't care and refused to ask anyone as he knew he had no friends here. McGonagal tried to bully him into it and Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione tried to force him into taking Ginerva as his date of choice. She even had a ball appropriate dress robe in light green and gold to accent his dark green dress robes. Which since Molly Weasely had chosen Harry's dress robes, told Harry her mother had known of the event long before the Ball was ever announced to the students and planned on Ginerva being his date to the event. They all had. Therefore, the whole thing was nothing but a set-up. A set-up to force Harry into publically acknowledging the lies Ginerva had been spreading for the past year about how she was his chosen girl who'd one day be his wife. He refused. Openly and publically without a care for the false tears the girl wept or Hermione's very public lecture. Without a care for Ron's angry bellowing or Dumbledore and McGonagal's frowns of clear disapproval. He was not and would not escort Ginerva Molly Weasely to the Ball. Or anywhere else for that matter.

The second event was at the bottom of Black Lake and the sight of the Lake brought back the memories of the night he had gained and lost his Godfather which he was certain was why said location was selected in the first place. Dumbledore would do anything and everything he could to hurt him and this whole Tournament was his baby. So chances were good he'd chosen the location of the different events. But he swallowed his feelings just as he had all year long and held his mask of no expression tightly in place, obstinately refusing to let Dumbledore see he had gotten to him at all.

Because Harry had no friends in his heart, and he'd refused to show up at the farce of a Yule Ball with a girl, any girl, on his arm, his owl had been taken and placed in a stasis bubble at the bottom of the Lake for him to rescue before the hour was up. And Harry, not knowing what they had taken from him, was tempted to just let the hour run out or go looking for something in the depths that could possibly let him leave this world behind. But then the Defense teacher told him it was Hedwig down there waiting for rescue and he knew he had to try for her sake if for no other reason. His owl didn't deserve to drown to death at the bottom of a cold lake. And Black Lake was never going to claim another thing Harry could, or did, love so long as he was alive to stop it. Dobby brought him some gillyweed from the apothecary in Hogsmeade and Harry dove into the lake intent on rescuing his only true friend.

So he had swum down to the bottom of the lake and reached his feathered friend. Hermione was asleep in a bubble next to Hedwig. Next to her was a delicate looking little girl who could have been no older than ten and at the end of the row was Cho Chang, a Chinese immigrant student who was dating Cedric Diggory. Harry quickly identified who was meant for the other two girls as he freed his owl from her bonds while making sure the stasis bubble around her would stay intact. He didn't trust Dumbledore not to have it burst as soon as she was freed from the ropes holding her underwater.

He turned to go just as a mortally wounded Victor Krum showed up in a partial transformation. He was leaving a heavy trail of blood in the water that showed he was mortally wounded and in need of immediate medical care. Harry hit him with a stasis spell that would bind his wound until he could reach the surface as Victor bit through the ropes holding Hermione before gathering her to his chest and trying to propel himself to the surface of the lake. But blood loss had him feeling weak and tired and he was having a hard time of it. Feeling his compassion swell, Harry drew his wand again and cast a propulsion spell on the wounded boy to send him to the surface as quick as was safe while he waited for Diggory and Delacour to show up for their victims. The propulsion spell partially tore apart the stasis spell and his wounds were bleeding again though only sluggishly. As he swam towards the surface, Victor gave him a nod to show he understood what Harry had done for him and appreciated the effort. Diggory showed within minutes and seeing Harry already there holding Hedwig in her bubble, motioned for him to head up indicating that Fleur, the French student, wouldn't be coming.

Sometimes Harry honestly hated his nature and this was one of those times. He cut the ropes binding the little girl and sent both her and Hedwig surface bound after making certain the little girl had Hedwig securely in her arms, while he stayed to fight the merpeople for having freed more than his own surety. He was trusting the child to keep his owl safe and knew that was a risk he really had no reason to take. Honestly he didn't want to take either. But he couldn't let a little girl die just because she'd been selected as surety for one of the other contenders. And he had to fight the merpeople over his decision to free her.

Eventually he managed to get free of them and swam to the surface himself only to discover the judges arguing over whether or not to kill Hedwig for his breaking of the rules of the challenge. Hedwig, who was being ignored by the little girl he had trusted to keep her safe. Hedwig, who'd been tossed aside as soon as the girl had breeched the water's surface. Dumbledore was actually leading the charge to kill Hedwig while the two foreign Heads of School were arguing to leave her be.

Fleur, though heavily bandaged showing she had suffered some major injuries, was ignoring Hedwig while babbling away in French and hanging onto to her little sister. She had her wrapped firmly in her embrace, crying all over the smaller girl who was doing her best to comfort the older girl while reaching for the endangered owl. She at least seemed to care about the owl's welfare and was trying to go to her. Cedric, too, was ignoring the judges to fawn over Cho Chang, his own surety, completely uncaring of the fate of Harry's surety in the event.

And Krum was gone. Despite Harry's best efforts, he'd lived just long enough to get Hermione to the surface before he'd died from his wounds. It seems the merpeople saw him as a threat just as the grindlylows had seen Fleur as a threat. The two creature races had attacked the contenders with intent and it was only luck that had Cedric swim by in time to realize Fleur was in grave danger. He'd swum back to help her and she had immediately quit the lake.

Harry saw red when he realized what the judges were saying and grabbed his pet before they could even think of killing her. His magic finished the process of bringing her to full awareness and drying out her feathers as someone had drenched her before placing her under the stasis spell. That told Harry the judges, at least the British ones, had fully intended for her to die as there was no reason for her feathers to be wet otherwise. As soon as she was awake enough, he bade her to fly away and not return until he called for her as he wouldn't lose her, too. He hadn't even realized he talked to her in hoots, whistles, barks and clicks just as she often talked to him. But the audience certainly did. Awe and surprise was the dominant expression on their faces as they listened to him talking to the smartest owl in the Castle. As Hedwig took to the air Harry's glare kept all the judges wands aimed at the ground rather than her. But for the audience and judges, Harry had finally shown them a talent other witches and wizards didn't have. Not that it mattered. Said talent wasn't useful to Dumbledore and his plans for Harry.

Needless to say, Harry received no points in the lake challenge since the judges couldn't agree on any other way to punish him for breaking their rules. But he didn't care. None of the victims Dumbledore had been willing to sacrifice to test Harry's mettle had died. Though Krum had died, even Harry acknowledged it was his choice of transformation that had gotten him killed more than any maliciousness on the part of the merpeople. Sharks were the traditional enemies of any fish or fish person and the merpeople were more fish than people. Racial memory told them Krum had been a threat to them and their village. So they had reacted. And Harry had tried to save his life. Something that even Victor had acknowledged. So for the first time since one of these yearly games had begun, Harry felt no guilt gnawing at his soul.

The third event took place at the end of the year and Harry, for some reason he didn't understand, was the first to enter the maze. Having no points from the previous two events, he should've been the last to enter. But he wasn't which practically screamed this whole thing was nothing but a set-up for the end of the year event. He walked in a daze, constantly trusting his instincts to lead him in the right direction but not really caring if he got to the trophy first or not. He didn't want to win this damned event. Hell, he hadn't even wanted to be a part of it. All he wanted to do was get an education so that someday he could get a job and earn a living for himself. Somewhere. Preferably where people were few and far between.

He heard Fleur scream and knew she had been knocked out of the competition though he had no idea what she'd encountered. That left only him and Diggory. Diggory who still refused to admit Harry hadn't willingly entered a Tournament he was forbidden by the rules to be in. About five minutes later Cedric let out a hoarse yell of surprise and then a red flare went up indicating he was also out of the competition. Again, Harry had no idea what had befallen the older contestant. What he did know was that flare meant if Harry reached the cup, he'd won the match-up whether he wanted to or not.

Sighing, Harry moved to where he knew the center of the maze to be and, even though he recognized the cup for the portkey it was, picked it up whispering to himself, "All right, you damn evil Geppetto. Let's see what horror show you have planned for me this year." He knew the old man had some sort of method of listening to events that played out around him when he was playing his games. How else could the old man plan his moves and make his plays? So he had no doubts his words had been heard. But he no longer cared. He wouldn't have been surprised at the flash of surprised consternation on the old man's face over his choice of words though. An expression that had quickly been masked lest anyone see it and ask uncomfortable questions.

He was teleported to the graveyard and got a front row seat for the resurrection of Voldemort. Pettigrew was waiting for him with the malformed infant that was currently playing host body for Voldemort and that only proved two Marauders had survived the night Sirius Black had died. Which meant Lupin most likely was every bit the traitor to Harry and his parents Pettigrew himself was. And further confirmed what a liar the old man truly was because Harry didn't have a doubt in his mind the old man knew the rat had escaped his fate. And really with this event being enacted, Harry knew exactly why Pettigrew had been allowed to escape. He'd still been needed.

The rest of that night passed in a blur of one horror upon another until suddenly he found himself back at Hogwarts with the cup in hand and throwing up on the grass outside the maze. Minister Fudge wanted to charge him with Victor Krum's death because an autopsy had revealed Harry's magical trace on Victor's remains. This was supposedly to appease the upset Bulgarian contingent who wouldn't have been appeased at all since that trace had also revealed exactly what magic Harry had performed on their champion. So even the judges said no to that idea, pointing out there was no way in hell Harry Potter could've stopped Victor Krum's death from occurring.

Then he wanted to charge him with the death of Cedric but again the judges said no as Cedric had willingly entered the contest knowing full well death was a possible outcome of the events. Furthermore investigation made it clear his death was in no way Harry's doing or fault as Harry hadn't been anywhere near the seventeen year old in the maze when Cedric had perished.

Nor was he responsible for the life threatening injuries suffered by the French competitor which she'd made certain to relate before she passed out. Her sister had been very angry at her for forcing her to lose control over Harry's owl at the end of the second event and she was trying in her own way to protect the boy now to make up for not doing so then. She did respect the boy for his efforts in this tournament and the daily hardship he'd been forced to endure during the year. As far as she was concerned he was the only British wizard she'd met this year worthy of respect and admiration. She was also trying to appease her little sister and get back into her good graces. Because Gabrielle Delacour was very upset with Fleur for making her fail in her appointed task of protecting that pretty owl for her hero, Harry Potter.

Harry collapsed on the grass once the portkey had returned him to Hogwarts. Once again it was Professor Snape who took him to the infirmary where Madam Pomfrey was waiting for him. Just as he had last year, he stood over the boy until the Matron had him firmly under her care. Moody, who was that year's Defence teacher, kept trying to take custody of Harry from Snape but Snape refused to let him. Mainly because once again Harry was muttering and talking off the top of his head, unaware of what he was truly saying. Harry was muttering all the way to the ward and the Professor was chilled to the bone by his words as he kept saying, "He's back. The turf war has a new player. He's returned."

Once again Dumbledore had him teleported straight to Privet Drive as soon as he was aware enough to leave the medical ward. The old man was angry that Harry had made such a poor showing during the Tournament and that he hadn't been able to effect any kind of a loss upon the boy that would hold any true meaning for him. He simply didn't understand there was nothing else he could take from the boy who had nothing left to lose.

He had been hoping that Hermione would die under the water as Victor's hostage since he had told Victor to use the shark transformation for the event. Unfortunately now he would have to find another way to get the girl killed. Because to his way of thinking, Hermione Granger had to die as the final nail he needed to subvert Harry to his will. And only his will. He needed that brat under his complete control.

It was unfortunate Victor could only do a partial transformation into the shark. But it turned out to be enough. Dumbledore knew the merpeople well enough to know any hint of a shark in their waters would enrage them and inflame their senses until they attacked without remembering the competition. He had known Victor would be killed but hadn't counted on him living long enough to rescue the Granger girl first. Nor had he cared Victor was an international superstar for the masses. In fact, that was all the more reason to get the boy killed. He was popular and a household name. Equal to his own glory and fame though for a different reason. Better for the boy to die now before he could do anything else fame garnering to eclipse his own fame.

But Granger now. She was a different story. He'd been tickled pink when he learned she was to accompany Krum to the Ball and could be used in the second task. He'd thought it a surefire method of ending her life. He'd counted on the three years of friendship she and Harry had shared to break the boy to his will when she died at the bottom of the lake he'd believe he could've rescued her from but had failed to do so. A belief he knew he would've reinforced for the boy he was playing with right now. A belief his other two pawns would definitely confirm and embellish twisting the knife and enhancing the guilt the brat would feel.

He'd even reinforced her bonds to prevent Harry from being able to release her though after the brat had rescued the little French tartlet, he wished he'd done the same for all the victims of the event. He'd never considered the brat might see the other hostages as unwilling and innocent victims as well. Krum could still release Hermione but Potter couldn't have. Therefore, he knew Victor had been the one to rescue Hermione from the depths. His double miscalculation had cost him a victim to guilt the brat with.

Her death along with that of his bird, because of course it was his intention that Hedwig would die in the challenge as well, he felt would break the Potter child to the point where Harry would mindlessly do whatever he told him to do from that point onward without question. And yet it hadn't worked. Nor had his plans to let the Minister threaten to arrest him for the deaths of the true competitors affected the boy. He'd returned from wherever the portkey had taken him too shaken up and tired to even realize the Minister was threatening to arrest him. So the threats hadn't impacted him at all and he'd never even glanced to the Headmaster to save him from the Minister's efforts.

 **Author Note: Please review and remember I told you up front these are not the canon characters. My characters are based on certain personality traits the canon characters displayed or events that occurred in canon but could have been taken another way. I am not bashing Ms. Rawlings work though I believe it's clear I don't like Dumbledore all that much. His actions and the reasons behind them just offend me. While I did like him in Ms. Rawlings works, I know if he'd been the principle of my boys' school I'd have pulled them out of there in a heartbeat. As I said before, I am merely creating my own using her setting and the people she populated it with. Only one more background chapters to go I think and we'll be caught up to present time. I know they're boring but in this story they're necessary.**


	6. Bye Bye Dursleys

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long and already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Six: Bye Bye Dursleys

Harry had found both his Aunt and Uncle waiting for him to tell them what new horror he had been forced into dealing with this year and not really believing they truly wanted to know but unable to not tell them after the way they had reacted the previous summer, he'd slowly spilled out the story of his fourth year to them.

Sitting around the little round table in the pizzeria Vernon had taken them to for dinner, Petunia had surprised him by asking, "Harry? Who do you have left in your life for Dumbledore to take away? You said you're no longer friends with that girl or the redhead family. Your godfather was taken away before you ever got to know him as were the other two remaining comrades of your Father. You said he tried to kill your owl this year and she's not even human. Which tells me anyone left is somehow untouchable currently. But it doesn't tell me who they might be. So who's left?"

Harry set his slice of pizza down and took a mouth clearing sip of his soda before replying. He'd laughed hollowly and told her point blank. "The three of you and Hedwig. I think Lupin is still alive but since I'm not supposed to know that, he might as well be dead. Pettigrew is also still alive though if I'm right, he won't be for long. Nor could anyone possibly think he's someone I'd care about or be close to seeing as how he's the one who betrayed Mum and Dad. I've no one else who could be considered close by anyone's standards. Nor will I ever since I know exactly what would happen to anyone I tried to get close to. I won't knowingly make a target of people just because my enemies don't see value in human lives any more."

"The three of you are only targets because I stay with you during the summertime. Not because the three of you have ever really been all that close to me. Not to anyone who really knows us anyway. But over there, they have this idea that family is always close. Even if they themselves aren't close to their flesh and blood kin. Or have family members they wouldn't cross the street to greet. To them, the fact that you've kept me all these years, proves we're close no matter how many times I've said we don't like each other. And no, Uncle I've never said anything but that we don't like each other and I'd prefer not to return here since you don't want me to. They don't listen. Because you do take me back, you tell them I'm lying to them and we're closer than I want them to believe we are. So that qualifies the three of you as potential targets for that evil old madman."

Petunia had shared a very nervous but grim look with her husband as they finished their meal. Dudley had tried to swipe Harry's slice of the pie while he was talking and Petunia absently slapped his hand for it with her cutlery causing him to howl in outrage while Vernon just growled at his son to leave Harry's meal alone. Unlike the rest of them Petunia always ate her pizza with a knife and fork instead of her hands. And she always ordered a salad to go with it. Surprisingly, she also ordered one for Harry though not for either Vernon or Dudley.

Vernon thought his words over very carefully for the next week. Then he went to the bank, a realtor and his boss. By the end of June, the Dursley's were gone. Not even Harry knew where they had gone to. All he knew was if Dumbledore wanted to make them disappear, as he had everyone else Harry might have had a tie to, he was going to have to find them first and if he knew his Aunt and Uncle, they wouldn't make finding them easy. Because while he knew they couldn't give a rat's fart in an alley about him or his welfare, they did care about Dudley. Dudley was their world and they'd do anything and everything they could to protect him. No matter what, or who, threatened him.

Both Petunia and Vernon had tried to tell Harry they weren't so much abandoning him as they were doing their duty as parents. They owed it to Dudley, they said, to do what they had to in order to insure Dudley got to grow up. But the end result was the same whether they intended it or not. He was left here while they disappeared. The house was now his. Legally his and his alone. His uncle had signed it over to him as compensation for their leaving him to deal with the freaks on his own. He'd apologized and admitted he knew the house and land was small consolation for being left out in the cold like this. But Dudley was his son and that was the bottom line. He had to protect his son. And at least he'd have a place to live as he learned to survive without adults to provide for him. He completely ignored the fact that Harry had been pretty much doing that all his life.

So now, three days before he was due to show up at King's Cross Station and board a train bound for Scotland that only a very small percentage of the population could even see, he was sitting in his backyard on top of a huge rock under the sheltering branches of a heavily laden fruit tree contemplating what he wished to do. He knew the house here was his. His Uncle had arranged that before the family had fled the country through very obscure methods. And it was now considered to be a part of the Potter Estate. A hidden part but still a part of the Estate.

Harry knew the family couldn't openly cross the borders of England without triggering alarms within the magical community. He wasn't at all sure where all those alarms were located or whom they'd alert when they were triggered. But the family had gone to Ireland, Scotland, Wales and even to Majorca before so they all knew it was clearly possible for them to leave. And once they got out of Britain, who was to say when or if they would return? Just because you made travel plans with an itinerary, a beginning date and a returning date didn't mean you had to actually abide by those plans. As good as Dumbledore was at controlling his playing pieces, he couldn't have the entire border of four or more different countries completely monitored. Not when there was free flowing water between them. Besides, who was to say the family hadn't only been going on another of their vacation or business trips? He'd have no way to know when to expect them to return. So there was a better than average chance they'd succeed in their bid for freedom.

Petunia had stocked the house with everything Harry might need to survive until it was time for him to return to the school. All of them knew his chances of being able to return to Privet Drive after this summer were slim to none. But they planned as if he'd still be in need of the house anyway. The chances of the disappearance of the Dursley trio going unnoticed for a full year weren't very high. Especially when Dudley never showed up at Smeltings. But it's what they were all hoping for. And they did know there was a chance, since Harry didn't ever return here during school breaks and never spoke to anyone about his summer if he could avoid it. He only ever came back here during the summer when he had no place else to stay. And considering what he'd told them of his life in that world, his life there was even worse than the life they'd given him here. So there never was a choice of where he'd spend his summers.

He had spent a couple of weeks at the home of the redheads during his first summer home but not even he had wanted to repeat that stay in the subsequent years. He said he'd been placed into a room with Ron, the boy he was supposedly friends with, and spent the entire time being bombarded with how hard pressed the family was and fawned over by both the Mother and daughter in a way that had made him more than a touch uncomfortable. Ron had spent the entire visit complaining about how Harry had more money and could afford nicer things than he could. All the while never seeming to notice Harry had none of these nice things he was whining about not having. He'd even refused to go there again when he was invited for some big sporting event they wanted him to go with them to. Harry had told his Aunt they only wanted him to go because of who he was over there. Not because they actually liked him or wanted him around. So she told Vernon to refuse him permission and not to let the wizards force the issue. Vernon took them all away the night before the proposed retrieval date so no one was there when the redheads showed up to get Harry. They'd stayed away all weekend just so Harry couldn't be forced to stay with them again. The fact that someone had shown up to get Harry that time, as was obvious by the missing note Vernon had left for them, proved the wizards weren't actually monitoring the family all that closely.

And that meant if he made it through the summer without anyone noticing the Dursley's weren't around, there was just as good a chance their absence wouldn't be noticed until the upcoming end of the school year when they didn't arrive at King's Cross to greet the train. Even that wasn't likely to say anything though since he'd been returned to them via a special form of transportation straight from the school each year he'd been attending that damn school.

Petunia had even put in a long term request with a local cabbie for Harry to be picked up at the house and delivered to King's Cross Station in London on September the 1st. She'd had to pay a rather hefty deposit for the order since that was a good two months down the line from when she'd made the request, but she didn't care because she knew he couldn't get there any other way. And he had to return to school on time one way or the other.

Dudley had been pulled out of Smeltings with no forwarding address or school listed in his records to trace him through. All it took was a discreet call from Vernon's boss to the administrator of the school once Vernon had explained to his long time boss why he needed to remove his family from England as fast as possible and on the qt. Harry had confirmed that Dumbledore and several other high level people over there knew what school Dudley attended as well as what company Vernon worked for. Just as they knew Petunia was a stay-at-home parent and something of a social gadfly. So, with them trying to distance themselves from Harry, it was no longer safe for them to be so easy to find. All of them had to change such easy to identify markers about themselves.

Nor was Dudley allowed to give his buddies a heads up to the family's move. Both Vernon and Petunia knew the wizards would run interrogations in the neighborhood in an attempt to reacquire them and if they found one of Dudley's friends whom he had blabbed to, it'd be all over except for the crying as the saying went. For that reason, neither adult even told Dudley they weren't returning to the house. They told him only that they were going on a summer long vacation and he'd know where to when they arrived at their location. He was allowed to tell his friends that much so they wouldn't come to the house looking for him. Dudley's friends had never been all that nice to Harry and wouldn't hesitate to make problems for him if they realized he was there alone. Needless to say Dudley had decided they were going to Disneyland since he really wanted to go there and that was what he told his buddies.

They chose not to say anything to Vernon's sister Marge knowing she most likely wouldn't wish to relocate. She had a comfortable life on the cliffs of Dover and enjoyed her afternoon teas with the Colonel too much to want to move somewhere she knew no one but them. Though she loved her brother and nephew, a couple of visits each year was enough for her to remember why she'd never married or wanted to have children of her own. And then there were her championship dogs to think about. Marge was a breeder of championship bulldogs. She'd won many awards for her dogs and sold the pups to police academies around Britain. She'd even sold some to handicapped training facilities to be used as guide dogs and help mates for those that needed them. Even if she moved somewhere new, there was no way she could or even would, give up on the dogs. And if she tried to re-establish herself elsewhere, she could still be traced through the dogs. Because to be successful in that business you had to rely on past examples of what the dogs you bred could become.

Even if she did wish to go with them, they really didn't want to share a dwelling with her while she looked for new accommodations. Marge was too uncouth for them. Too rough around the edges. While there was a chance she'd be grabbed by the wizards trying to control Harry, there was absolutely no chance Harry would raise so much as an eyebrow over her fate. Marge had been too mean and too nasty to him over the years for little to no reason but that she wished to be. Nor could she be used to pull the rest of them out of hiding since they had to be found to be told the wizards had her. And if they could be found to be told, then there was no reason to grab her in the first place.

Thinking about her however had caused Vernon to realize for the first time how very unfairly his sister had treated Harry. Solemnly he had turned to Harry and apologized to him for the way he'd allowed Marge to treat him over the years. He didn't try to explain his behavior to his nephew. Or hers. Just explained that he could see things differently now and realized how everything must have felt to Harry all these years. Harry had accepted the apology as it was meant and let the matter drop.

Harry didn't care for Marge Dursley at all. He never had or would. No matter what excuse his Aunt and Uncle had for their treatment of him, they'd at least provided him with food, shelter, clothing, medical care when it was absolutely needed and an early education. They'd taught him what he needed to know to take care of his body's needs and some general rules of staying safe in society. They'd even taught him job related skills he could use to provide a living for himself. But she'd never had any of that to balance her cruelty. She was cruel just for the sake of being cruel and she hated Harry for no good reason as he'd certainly never cost her a thing. Harry only thanked God she didn't have a key to this house or any right to be here any longer since Vernon had signed it over to him. But she _was_ the reason Harry had unplugged the phone when his relatives abandoned him here.

Vernon had sent her the information that the family was moving and would contact her when they were settled. He hadn't given her a reason for the move or even told her exactly when the move would take place. He'd just said they were moving for business reasons and would be in touch when they were settled and ready for visitors. So she had no reason to come calling on the address any more. Or to even call on the phone. Unless she got drunk and forgot they'd written to say they were moving.

When it grew too dark and chilly for comfort on the rock any longer, Harry sighed and climbed down the rock to go inside. He turned on a low burning light in the kitchen that provided just enough light for him to cook by and made himself a light dinner. His Aunt had made sure he was accustomed to eating at least twice a day and eating small, well-balanced meals instead of just whatever he could get to quickly and eat just as fast.

She knew why he tended to eat that way and it made her wince as she worked to retrain him out of those habits. The three short weeks she had before the family left along with the couple of months the previous summer, to retrain Harry into sensible eating habits and in the ways he could remain here and be safe from harm, weren't very long but she was determined to do right by her sister's child for a change. She felt she owed it to the boy now that she fully understood exactly why he had been dumped on her in the manner he had been. And he understood why she hated the world that had stolen her sister away. Now that she knew she'd fallen straight into the trap that wicked old man had set for her and played into his game of making sure Harry had no binding ties to keep him from throwing his life away at the old man's whim. A life her sister had died trying to protect.

In Petunia's eyes, Albus Dumbledore had come to represent all the magical people in the world. In him, she had found someone to focus her hate for the world that took her sister and destroyed her childhood family. That got not only Lily but also their parents killed. Albus Dumbledore was the one who sent her sister a Hogwarts Letter. He was the one who refused to allow Petunia to attend the school as well. He was the one who had pushed Lily towards James and the Marauders. He was the one who made certain everyone over there knew her sister was a muggleborn thereby endangering her for no good reason. He was the one who arranged for the Prophecy fragment, that got Lily killed and Harry orphaned, to be leaked to the other side. He was the one who did the spell to hide Lily and her small family to supposedly keep them safe. Which had in turn led the other side to the doorstep of her parents in an effort to flush Lily and James out of hiding. He was the one who dumped Harry on her doorstoop in the middle of the night. He was the one who locked an innocent man in prison because said man had the right to raise Harry over her. And now he was the one trying to kill Harry. Yes, she had found the one person in the magical world she could freely hate for all her troubles.

Harry did nothing to disillusion her of her feelings. Because except for the things that had occurred before he was even thought of, he knew she was correct. Everything bad that had occurred in Harry's life was due to the meddling of one Albus Dumbledore. And to his way of thinking, it was about time someone hated that man for what he had done and was doing. Someone other than him, that is. And Harry had finally admitted to himself he did in fact hate the headmaster. A lot.

She and Vernon had spent a lot of time while Harry and Dudley had been away at school this fourth year talking about their lives and Harry's role in them. They'd come to the conclusion if they were him, they'd hate them with a passion for the way he'd been treated by them. They recalled with shame their refusal to even tell him when his own birthday was as if it was such a shameful event it didn't bear mentioning and their unabashedly cruel behavior in the choice of Christmas presents they'd given him over the years. A bundle of switches and a lump of coal hadn't been demeaning enough for them. Oh no. They'd given him holey socks, stretched completely out of shape and so worn they would never give a drop of warmth to his small feet. A Kleenex tissue Petunia had pulled from the box just that morning and of course it wasn't wrapped. How the hell could you wrap up a tissue anyway. They'd given him a cleaning rag, a scrub brush and a package of sponges, which actually were useful to him since Petunia made him do all the house cleaning on a daily basis and so was probably the most meaningful gift he'd ever received from them. A broken pencil worn down to a dull nub with no eraser left and other things of equally useless nature. All because they despised him over something he couldn't control and events he'd had no say in.

The best present they felt they had ever given him was a fifty pence piece. But the reasoning behind that wasn't nearly as charitable as it appeared. As it should have been. That had been his first year at Hogwarts and more because they were afraid of what people over there might do them if they gave him nothing. Or gave him a piece of garbage as was their normal habit. They hadn't given him anything in the subsequent years since Harry said he had opened his gift alone in his dorm room first thing in the morning and had of course informed him of his isolation in subsequent years. Therefore, in their minds, no one would know if they didn't give him a gift. So why should they spend their hard earned money on him when they didn't like or care about him at all?

By the end of June, they were feeling confident Harry would survive without them and hopeful that they'd finally be safe. They left, highly nervous and yet excited to be getting free of the mess their lives had been tangled in for the last decade and a half. They weren't even worried about what the neighbors would say or think. The neighbors never had said anything when the family went somewhere without Harry. So none of them would think it was strange now. For the first time in years, they had hope. Hope that they'd survive more than a set number of years and it was only now that they were feeling hopeful again that they realized why they'd treated Harry so very badly to begin with. Subconsciously, they'd always known having him under their roof was a death sentence for them and yet because he was blood and had no one else, they hadn't been able to turn him away when he so clearly needed them.

Dudley, unlike his parents, had used the school year to regain his previous point of view about life and his place in it. He'd been raised to believe every bad thing in his life was the fault of his cousin and that his own standard of living was limited due to his parents being forced to house Harry as well as Dudley. His parents had taught him that his low school performance was due to Harry overshadowing him. All of his personality flaws had always been blamed on Harry and any negative things other adults had said about Dudley or to him, were the fault of Harry telling false tales or showing him up in some manner. Even when he knew for a fact Harry had done no such thing, Dudley had long ago accepted it was, and always would be, Harry's fault when things went wrong for him. Not even having his hand slapped in the Pizzeria had made him realize change had come for his parents. That they no longer saw Harry as the reason for Dudley's failures. Or why bad things happened to the family. For them, Harry was now the victim. A victim they couldn't really help but would no longer blame for things they didn't like in their lives.

So from the back seat of his father's car Dudley waved good-bye to Harry, grinning because to his mind he was once again receiving a treat Harry was to have no part of and completely unaware his parents were about to break the law in a major way. After all, in his mind his parents were taking him on a fabulous vacation to Disneyland where he'd have a great time and buy lots of souvenirs and other junk. Although he'd miss his crew and all the fun things they planned to do this summer, being able to rub it in Harry's face that his folks had taken him on a summer long vacation was worth giving up his crew for a few months.

Dudley loved getting things Harry didn't get and he loved rubbing said things in his cousins face. He still had no idea his family would never again return to England if they had any say in it. For them, the bloom had gone off the English Rose permanently. Nor did he have any idea he'd never see his cousin or his crew again in order to brag about his wonderful holiday and alone time with his parents. And he'd be furious if he realized all the things his family was leaving behind now belonged lock, stock and barrel to Harry. That Harry would be using his computer and gaming consoles whenever he wanted and watching his movies on his telly. Reading his books and playing with his toys. Not that Harry really played with toys any more. He'd long ago outgrown that need. But Dudley didn't know that. He alone didn't realize the truth of this trip. All he knew was he was due to have a very special summer alone with his parents who loved him and only him.

He also had no idea his standard of living was about to take a major nose dive since his parents would now have to pay either a mortgage or rent for their accommodations, something they'd not had to do since the morning his Mum woke to find Harry on the doorstep, and would no longer receive a stipend check from the Potter accounts. After all, they'd no longer be housing, feeding and clothing the Potter heir so they were no longer entitled to it. Their last such check had come at the beginning of July, which Harry had let them keep and it had been put towards the expense of this move. Nor did Vernon have such a well paying job anymore since he'd had to resign from his manager's position to move away at all. He and Petunia both knew they couldn't afford for Vernon to keep a position with the company even if another place in a distant branch had been offered to him.

By August 30th, Harry had made his decision. He knew there was only a small chance he would ever again be allowed to return to Privet Drive once he left the house. But if he failed to show up at Hogwarts, the chances of returning were nil. Only if he went to Hogwarts could he hope to convince Dumbledore and everyone else nothing had changed in the muggle world for him.

Besides, he had one more school year to go before he could sit for his Owl Exams. He just knew there was no way he'd be allowed to retain his wand rights if he didn't sit and pass enough of his Owls. Neither the Minister nor Dumbledore would allow it simply because both of them saw Harry as a threat to their power and popularity. Dumbledore had been trying, openly and unsuccessfully, to gain power over Harry for four years now. Not taking or passing those exams would definitely give him the leverage he was looking for. The same was true for the current Minister. He too could use Harry's failure to sit his exams as a reason to grab Harry and place him under his authority. And finally, even though he didn't like his relatives, they deserved as much time as he could give them to get as far from Britain as possible. Because they were under threat. That was best achieved by returning to Hogwarts School of Animosity and Death Traps. He had survived four years there. He could survive one more.

So he packed his trunk and told Hedwig, who had found him once he returned to his kin's place and spent the summer with him, to make herself scarce for the school year. Sadly, he informed her there was no one he'd need to contact while he was at the school and being there only placed her in danger. So he'd prefer it if she was somewhere safe while he went there. He explained to her that she'd have to take very good care of herself now since she was his very last connection with the material world. "If anything happens to you, Hedwig, I won't fight my death any more. You're the only thing I have left. If I lose you. . . So you have to stay safe if you want me to live." He knew it wasn't fair to place the burden of his life on her but it was nothing more than the truth and he'd never lied to his pet. She'd hooted sadly and rubbed her head on his cheek trying to comfort and reassure him.

Then he cleaned her cage and took it out to the shed where she could use it as a safe haven if she needed it. The shed had a vent hole in the roof that was big enough for her to fly in and out. He'd placed a spell on it that prevented the weather from getting inside the building through it but that would allow her to come and go without a problem. And her cage had an automatic warming/cooling charm on it so no matter what the climate was outside, she'd be perfectly comfortable in her cage. He placed her cage and food supply where she could get at them for when the hunting was bad. He'd also left a narrow hose dripping water into a shallow basin so she'd have access to fresh water while he was away. A specially designed box from the pet shop in Diagon Alley would let her have a treat once a week and he'd made certain it was working correctly and fully stocked so she wouldn't run out. The box gave her a selection of treats to choose from like a vending machine offered choices to people in the muggle world.

The shed definitely wasn't an owlery but it was the closest he could come to one so it would have to do. It wouldn't be as warm a nesting place as she was used to either but it was shelter and they both knew she couldn't return to Hogwarts with him. They both knew why. She knew as well as he did someone had tried to kill her the last time she'd been at his school. Hedwig was his last remaining tie to anything mortal and neither wanted to see that tie cut or used against him to force him to behave in a manner he didn't wish to. After situating her things in the shed, Harry went to bed knowing he was in for a long nine months of worry and stress. And more than likely, pain.

The next morning, August 31st, he rose from his bed which actually was a real single wide bed his Aunt and Uncle had bought for his use while he had been at Hogwarts last year. It had a brand new mattress and box springs as well as bedding in his favorite colors. In fact, they'd completely changed things in the house, redoing and giving him the room they had always reserved for Marge to use during her frequent stays. Gone were the pink frilly curtains and mauve colored bedspread with the rose tinted but badly stained carpet. Now the room was done in cool greens and calming blues showing Petunia at least had paid attention to what Harry liked or didn't like. His favorite Dudley hand-me-down had been a blue and green striped boat neck shirt with a wide floppy collar. On Dudley the close fitting shirt had been short sleeved and barely reached the top of his trousers. But on Harry it was always baggy and comfortable. The sleeves reached his elbows and it was long enough to tuck into his trousers waistband.

They turned the old toy room into a small library/study for the boys to use. They even made it clear to Dudley it was Harry's just as much as it was his and Dudley wasn't to try destroying anything Harry chose to leave in the room any more than Harry had ever chosen to destroy Dudley's things. Nor was Dudley allowed to enter Harry's new bedroom without his permission.

Dudley had protested that claiming Harry had destroyed a lot of Dudley's things before but for the first time in his life, his parents hadn't believed him. Which only hacked Dudley off and made him determined to make Harry suffer. Vernon made it very clear that if anything of Harry's in that room got damaged, Dudley would be in big trouble.

Dudley had tested that only once. He had defaced one of Harry's books and Vernon had literally taken a belt to his rump before making him replace the book out of his own pocket money. Something that had turned out to be a lot more expensive than any of them had thought it would be simply because the book he defaced was magical and could only be purchased in the magical shopping district with magical money. So Dudley had to go to Gringott's and exchange his pocket money for magical coin and then go to the book store to find a copy of the book he'd destroyed. Nor would Vernon allow Dudley to force Harry to take him other places in the Alley where he could buy magical items to show off to his friends or use to torment Harry.

Of course, the thrashing came only after Dudley had tried to get revenge on Harry by trashing Harry's new bedroom. He had barged into the room while Harry had been occupied elsewhere in the house and completely demolished it. Petunia had made him clean the room when he had finished trashing it. She'd kept a list of everything he had destroyed in his rampage and Vernon had grounded him to his room as well taking away his second helpings and deserts for a week over the incident. Petunia had replaced the things she could off the list of destroyed items and the cost was taken out of Dudley's allowance. Which had Dudley being broke for a couple of weeks even after he had finished his grounding time. He had gotten the message then as he didn't like being broke unable to purchase snacks for his crew when they were out causing mayhem in the neighborhood.

 **Author Note: Please review. This chapter brings us up to present time. I know the previous chapters have been boring but in this story they were necessary to set the stage for Harry's revenge. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I've certainly spent long enough working on it.**


	7. Abandoned

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long and already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Seven: Abandoned

Now that his decision was made there were only a few more things Harry needed to do before leaving for school. Namely shutting down the house for a long period of unoccupation. Luckily, he'd seen Vernon and Petunia do it often enough to know exactly what to do. Even when they knew they'd be leaving him here while they went on whatever trip they planned to go on, they'd always shut down the house before they left.

The last thing Harry did was to make sure the kitchen was sufficiently well packed away. What foods could be frozen had been packed into the deep freezer and the refrigerator cleaned out before it was shut off. He'd even remembered to go through the pantry making sure all the bags and containers were tightly closed to keep out the bugs and other vermin. He made sure the gas to the range, water heater and radiators was also turned off since he knew he wouldn't be back before the springtime. If ever. And then he turned the water down to a mere trickle. Just enough water flowing through the pipes to keep them from freezing in the winter and provide the hose in the shed with fresh flowing water for Hedwig. But not enough to be a real problem if something did go wrong.

Through the goblins, which had been tricky to arrange since he didn't want to let them know his guardians had flown the coop, he'd already hired a realty company to come by and keep an eye on the house while he was away at school. While the goblins tended not to care too much about their human patrons, they were under several different treaties and Harry couldn't be sure one of them didn't deal with abandoned children. He did know they were smart and just cagey enough to figure it out if he gave them even the slightest hint.

But the realty company would handle things here at the house for him while he was away at the Hogwarts Training Ground for Murder and Mayhem. They'd also keep the electricity flowing so the freezer wouldn't defrost. And Steve from across the street would keep an eye on the place while the family was gone. He'd agreed to mow the grass and rake the leaves as well as collect any mail that came for him so it'd look like someone was living in the house.

Harry hadn't told him the Dursley family no longer lived there but he suspected Steve knew it already. Steve was like that. He knew things even if he never commented on them or did anything to try and change them. After all, it was Steve who bought Harry hotdogs, sticky buns or crisps sometimes when he noticed Harry was looking thinner than usual. He'd always been there to lend a hand when a hand was needed but wouldn't be given by anyone else. So it was to Steve, Harry had turned when he knew he'd need someone keeping in eye on the place while he was away. He even gave Steve a spare key to the house so Steve could let himself in if a problem arose. Steve would call the realtors if he noticed a problem. He'd also keep the neighborhood kids from vandalizing the house. Harry knew without asking Steve would stay in the house from time to time for a couple of hours turning on and off the lights, radio or television. He might even make himself a meal or two. Just so the neighbors would think the family was back from their trip. People around here were easy to confuse. So long as they heard the right sounds, they'd never think it might not be the right people making them. They never had before when it had been Harry himself pretending the family was in residence while they were on one of their trips.

Steve was a quiet man who kept to himself. He didn't gossip as so many of the residents around here did. He was observant but he never told anyone what he saw or heard in the neighborhood. He didn't care for gossip because he said those who gossiped quite often missed the forest for the trees. Nor were they any better than the people they talked about behind their backs. Quite often the very things they trashed others for doing they themselves were also guilty of. Harry often wondered if that was why Steve never spoke of his family. If he even had one.

Harry knew he was divorced but also knew he took care of his ex-wife and made sure she had a comfortable life. And when she'd passed away last fall, Steve had made and paid for her funeral arrangements according to her specified wishes. They didn't have any kids together and as far as Harry knew, Steve had never had any from anyone else either. Nor did he seem to have any brothers or sisters. Which might actually account for why he had taken to providing food for Harry when he noticed him looking pinched. Because in his own way Harry was just as alone in the world as Steve was. Yes, he had the Dursley family but everyone knew they didn't care for Harry and would be delighted if he was someone else's problem. So Steve had quietly stepped in when they were failing in their duty to Harry. Never quite doing enough to put their hackles up but always making sure Harry remained alive and reasonably healthy.

The realtors would take care of the yards supposedly and if a window got broke or the house was broken into, they'd replace the window, door lock or whatever needed it. They'd also keep an eye on things that could cause problems with the season changes. For that reason, Harry told them about the hose in the shed and why it was to be kept in working order. If they thought it strange he had an owl, a snowy owl, he was providing shelter in the garden shed for, they kept that opinion to themselves. Avid bird watchers weren't so uncommon in England and were well-known for their odd behavior patterns. In the opinion of realty companies, bird watchers were weird and usually troublesome if you had a property in their bird watching area you wanted to sell.

Other than that, there was nothing he could do that hadn't been done to keep the place available should he actually be able to return at the end of the year. He'd kept the house neat and tidy since the family had left so there was nothing that needed cleaning. He'd given the yards their final trimming yesterday so that was all finished. And he'd done his laundry in the days leading up to today so he could properly pack his trunk.

He then got dressed in the clothes he had chosen to wear so as to keep up appearances that nothing had changed over the summer, ate the food he had decided on last night and shut the house up nice and tight, waving to Steve who waved back as he got into the taxi that was waiting for him. He knew Steve had only been sitting on his porch waiting for Harry to leave for his school. The arrival of the taxi had told the man all he needed to know.

Harry took the taxi to the bus depot in Greater Whining. He had changed the reservation his Aunt had made for him so he could spend a day taking care of business for himself he didn't trust anyone else to handle. He had some banking business to take care of and he wished to spend some time on the Alley before catching it. He needed new reading material for this year as he had every intention of acing his Owl exams.

Because no matter what marks the teachers gave, or how stupid and worthless they thought he was, they wouldn't be the ones administering the exams this year. Owl exams, just like Newt exams, were given and watched over by the Ministry and the personnel of the Department of Education. Not the Hogwarts staff. No matter what Hermione and the rest of his year believed, Harry wasn't stupid and he rather thought that with his last vulnerable people out of reach, it was finally time he took the gloves off. It was time to show people just who they'd crossed. Just who they'd been trying to push around all these years.

Trying hell. They had been pushing him around. That was over with now though. This year he would push back. No more would he meekly stand aside and let them do as they like with his name, reputation, person, health and life. He was a person just like everyone else and it was time they recognized that.

He'd considered calling for the knight's bus but decided that was too risky and it was behavior out of character which might alert the wizards to the disappearance of his relatives since they always took him to and from the station. So he sat in the back of the taxi cab paying strict attention to the route the driver was taking so as not to get over charged by a driver looking for an easy buck. But the driver seemed to be an honest sort and took the straightest route to the bus depot he could take. He even helped Harry carry his trunk into the depot and up to the ticket counter where he watched to make sure Harry ran into no problems getting the bus to London.

Harry was unaware the driver was a personal friend of Steve the neighbor who had called him and asked for a favor in getting Harry out of Little Whining with the least amount of trouble. Since Steve had helped him out of a spot of trouble, the cabbie, Ajax, had no problem returning the favor today. Steve had explained the boy had been left to find his own way back to school and needed a safe driver to get him to the bus station. Ajax had even pretended to believe Harry's story about his Aunt being unavailable to drive him to the city as she was sick with the three day flu which had told him, even without Steve telling him the truth when he'd asked for the favor, louder than anything the boy had been abandoned by his kinfolk. Especially since Steve said he'd seen the family drive off at the beginning of July and not return. Steve said they were in the wind and as far as he knew there was no expected return date set. Steve claimed he expected them to return while the boy was away at school since they had another child who needed to attend school as well. He'd told Ajax the boy was mature and responsible but that he was only fifteen and small for his age. Old enough to know the rules but looked young enough to tempt the predators. Therefore, he was a prime target for them and needed watching over even if he didn't know it or believe it.

Harry settled into the bench seat cautiously knowing the driver was keeping an eye on him but not able to fully relax so long as he was in open transit like this. Public transit drivers always watched kids and teens traveling alone. Too many times those kids behaved badly and caused a ruckus that resulted in property damages and a loss of money. Then there was the danger of the wrong sort of person approaching a kid travelling alone. All transit drivers were supposed to watch for that sort of thing and head it off before another kid could go missing or wind up dead.

But for Harry too many kids had gone missing for him to be comfortable out in the open and exposed like this. He had his wand up his sleeve but even he knew it wasn't safe for him to use it unless the circumstance were dire. The Ministry would just love to get him on an underaged magic charge. So remaining observant to his surroundings was his best bet for staying safe and reaching his destination.

He made it to London without any problems and chose a cheap hotel not too far from the bus depot to spend the night in that seemed to have good security as well as a dining room so he wouldn't have to go hungry until he arrived at Hogwarts. They even offered a sandwich bar so he could make a lunch to eat on the train. he'd had to explain he was taking a train to school the next morning before the receptionist would rent him a room, but he'd expected that and had a fake school id card to prove his words.

After settling in at the hotel, he took a cab to Charring Cross Road where he knew the Leaky Cauldron still stood as it was the doorway between the magical world and the normal world. He slipped into the Alley without a problem and knew it was mainly because no one had expected him to be here on this day.

Since Dumbledore hadn't set this trip up, word hadn't spread far and wide and people hadn't gathered together to play Lookie Lou. He hated the way he got stared at like that when Dumbledore arranged a trip here for him and he'd been here just enough times alone to know it only happened when Dumbledore arranged the outing. People were too busy tending to their own needs and desires to notice the odd teenager coming and going unless they were receiving some kind of payment to do so.

He had visited the bank and took care of his annual business and set into motion his plans for this year. He thought their reaction to seeing him was a little extreme but since he had no idea why they were acting as they were, he let it go after he got the money he'd need for his shopping and the year.

Then he began making the rounds of the booksellers to get new textbooks in everything he was studying whether he was taking a class in the matter or not. If this year followed the pattern of the last couple of years, he knew Dumbledore would have had that stupid redheaded woman buy his school things including his text books. If he did, Harry would just donate them to the library where Madam Pince kept all the textbooks students no longer wanted. He also bought all the supplementary books he could spot for his normal classes knowing even if she did get his texts, she wouldn't think to get them because her own youngest two weren't studious to the point of registering on the intelligence scale as just above imbeciles. Any other school both Ron and Ginerva would have washed out already. Simply because of their poor showing and aversion to actually doing their assigned classwork.

He knew for a fact Ron had told his Mum he was keeping his scores low for Harry's sake. Because Harry didn't study any more than he did. That he hated it so Ron couldn't study all that much either. But the truth was they paid as little attention to their studies as they could get away with and it showed in the marks they received. Ron's highest performing class was Divination and that was only because all he had to do to pass it was make up a story of how Harry would die gruesomely any day now. But then neither Ron nor Ginerva thought they'd actually have to work to afford their tea and crumpets. Both thought they'd live their lives off the largess of the Potter accounts and have nice safe cushy lives with lots of parties to attend and rubbing elbows with the rich and the famous. Neither one actually thought they'd have to get a real job when they finished their schooling.

After his rounds of the booksellers, he went to the parchment supplies store and the Apothecary as well. He bought twice as much of those supplies as the class lists called for since he wanted to make sure he had an adequate supply of stores. This was because if he was back in the dorm this year, what he had for his needs, would be considered free for the taking to the general masses. And his dorm mates would think nothing of using his supplies before they'd even consider using their own. It was also unlikely he'd be given Hogsmeade privileges to replace what his so-called mates helped themselves to. After all, his kin still hadn't signed his permission slip to go there. Merlin knew not one of them would ever think to replace what they took either.

He replaced his old pewter cauldron and purchased a few others made from different materials and a new tool kit. The tool kit included stirring rods, a sharp silver bladed knife several different sizes of flat sided spoons, a dipper and a funnel. He picked out a new sharpening stone and a small bottle of oil to keep his knife sharp knowing he needed them. last but certainly not least he got a new set of crystal vials and jars of varying sizes. This way with all this equipment, he could easily experiment in his spare time. Even if he was back in the dorms, he knew there were plenty of unused rooms in the Castle he could set up as a personal lab for himself. And his potions needed replacing. What potions he had left were nearing their shelf-life date where they'd be unsafe to ingest or use.

He had already replaced his old one compartment trunk for a more elaborate five compartment model. Granted, one of those compartments was only a well disguised drawer for important papers and fine jewelry he didn't want anyone to know he had. Like his Mother's wedding set, which the goblins claimed both Dumbledore and the Weasely clan were trying to get, and his Father's pocket watch as well as Sirius' old one. Both watches were inscribed with their names and the dates they'd received them and a picture of the Marauders the watch didn't belong to. James' had a picture of a wolf, a grim and a rat lounging around a lily. Sirius' had a stag sniffing the lily while the rat and the wolf looked on. Both watches had been given to the men when they turned seventeen and came of age. They had the pictures engraved on the watches themselves, according to his father's journal. He also had their auror pins and badges as well as Lily's Unspeakable badge and certificate of Charms Mastery in the drawer which he had placed a high security locking charm on. The charm was keyed to him and only him in such a way he had to be fully conscious and aware for it to open. That way if anyone did figure out how to get into his trunk they'd never get into the drawer. Because Harry didn't want anyone getting anything in that drawer and he'd never let anyone in of his own free will.

But the other four were standard compartments. He now had a potions compartment complete with racks, cabinets and shelves for storing everything he needed for his potions class plus his own private brewing and experiments. Another was a decent sized library with an index book and an automatic sorting spell that would place any book he put in there on the shelves in the correct place as well as bring forward any particular book he wished to read or had a need of. Even if the book was a muggle book, the catalogue would sort it onto a shelf for him. The third compartment was a wardrobe compartment. Even though he could really only wear his uniform at Hogwarts, Harry had finally taken care of getting himself some decent clothing and replaced almost all of Dudley's hand-me-downs except for the outfit he'd wear to board the train. The last compartment was a catch-all compartment. It was designed to be similar to a gathering room with shelves and tables and even brackets on the wall to hold his cherished broom. All in all it was a nice trunk befitting his position in this society and was one that would last him several years before it needed replacing.

He thought about visiting a clothier to replace his school robes and uniform but decided not to. He thought his current things would easily make it through this year as he really didn't see himself hitting the growth spurt so many of his peers were experiencing. He could but it was unlikely he'd grow enough to where a simple spell couldn't add an inch or two to his current wardrobe to solve the problem. And he knew beyond any doubt this would be his last year at that death trap masquerading as a school. So he wouldn't need the clothes when this year finished.

One of the things Harry had decided over the last year or so was that he needed to take charge of his own education. It didn't matter that his teachers didn't want to teach him or that Dumbledore wanted to limit his exposure to all things magical. What mattered was whether or not Harry would let them keep him dumb and ignorant. It was time to finally begin improving his understanding of things. In a way, he'd been doing that all along since each summer had seen him making unscheduled trips to the Alley to purchase more books. But now he wouldn't be holding back in the classroom either. He would do his best in his classes whether the teachers would give him his fair grades or not. After all, grades only told others how bright or compliant you were. Usually complaint since to get high grades you had to listen to the teachers and do as they told you to when they told you to. Which was why Granger got such high scores. She always listened to the teachers and was eager beaver to show them she'd done what they asked of her. But grades didn't really say how much a person actually knew or could do with what they knew.

He finished his business on the Alley and returned to the hotel in time for a decent dinner and a good night's sleep with no problem. He didn't know he had impressed the people at the hotel with his quiet but well-mannered behavior as he settled into the small dining room and ate his quickly ordered dinner before retiring to the room he'd rented. They'd watched him settle into the room he'd rented and then leave for whatever business he had in the city. Then he'd returned and didn't make a mess even as he'd seemed loaded down with packages. Nor was he loud or drunk or stoned. He was quiet and polite when he spoke to someone and even left the waitress a good tip for bringing him his meal. He spent the evening putting away all his purchases before deciding to have an early night.

 **Author Note: Please review. This chapter brings us up to present time. I know it's short but it's a transitional chapter meant to move Harry from Privet Drive back to the magical world. And there just isn't that much that can happen in a single day. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I've certainly spent long enough working on it.**


	8. Summer Revelations on the Train

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long and already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Eight: Summer Revelations on the Train

The next morning he easily made it onto the train and smirked as he settled his trunk into the rack. He placed a privacy shield along with a Notice-Me-Not charm on the cabin and a high level locking spell on the door. He knew there were a couple of students who could still invade his chosen cabin but those students weren't any of his so-called friends. Luna Lovegood, a fourth year Ravenclaw he'd somewhat befriended back in his second year, and a few seventh years sprinkled among the school could work their way through all his spells but no one else could. Simply because Harry had both more magical power and a higher level of knowledge than they did. It was doubtful Luna would though as she knew better than to approach him anywhere their fellow students could see her do so. She had a hard enough time in the school. She didn't need association with him making things worse. And the seventh years had no reason to as they'd assume it was a couple of their own year mates inside the cabin enjoying a bit of private time before arriving at the school.

He felt very satisfied with himself. All summer now he had taken care of himself and proved once and for all he wasn't half as immature and irresponsible as people thought he was. As Hermione was always claiming he was. He'd even remembered to do his summer homework. Well, he'd never really forgotten to do his summer work no matter how much Hermione tried to claim he had or Ron excused his own failure by pointing to himself. He sat down with his new Potions book which he actually found fascinating though he'd never let the teacher know that. One of the cornerstones of his world was that Severus Snape hated him because his last name was Potter. Always had and always would. And in his world what few reliable things that existed really needed to remain as they were.

But one of the things Harry had found out over the summer was why exactly the Weasley clan had been so intent on separating him from others under the guise of making him a part of their family. Why Ron always complained to him about how he was rich and could afford things Ron could only dream of having. Why Molly had been practically throwing her daughter at him during that long ago visit. Why she, Ron and even Ginerva had seemed intent on making him realize how hard pressed her family was. And the reason behind that out-of-the-blue invitation to accompany them to the World Quiditch Game that was held before fourth year. They were all trying to hitch a ride on his robe ends and publically tie him to their family. No wonder Ron had been furious with him for not accepting that invite when fourth year had begun. That game was a chance to show everyone not connected to Hogwarts Harry Potter favored the Weasely family.

At the end of last year, the twins had come clandestinely to visit him in the infirmary to congratulate him on winning the Tournament and surviving another year of games. They'd been doing so every year and were true friends uncaring of what the rest of the school said about him. They'd even spent their hard earned pocket money to purchase a three way set of speaking globes after he nearly died rescuing their sister in his second year so they could talk to Harry without anyone knowing they were. That way Harry wasn't quite as isolated as everyone believed him to be. The globes were the magical answer to a telephone only they allowed the parties using them to see each others faces as they conversed. You held the globe in front of your face when you were using it and when the other parties on the connection were calling you, it would change color to let you know. You could also set it to make a soft chiming noise or to vibrate when you had an incoming call. So Harry felt the twins really were his friends and not just people trying to make a buck off what they could con him out of.

Harry had given them his winnings from that God awful Tournament to open their prank shop, which was their cherished dream, so long as they agreed to tell no one where they got the start-up capitol from. In return, they'd dropped a birdie in his ear to keep a close eye on his bank accounts and to maybe do a little digging into things financially if he could. They claimed they didn't known for certain and couldn't prove anything. But their brother had been spending money during the summers they couldn't find a source for ever since he'd started school. A lot of money. So had Ginny and after the way they plus their Mum had behaved that time he came for a visit, they had their suspicions. Not to mention the invite they'd tried to force Harry to accept to the Quiditch game. So Harry had resolved to check up on his accounts over the summer.

His Uncle was the perfect person to help him in that regard since keeping books was a part of his job at Grundig's. You don't become a corporate manager of a sales department if you can't keep and read a ledger. While he wasn't the accountant of his division, he was responsible for the record books in his department. Which meant he had to know and understand what those books said. Because if the accountant was a fraud, it was Vernon who'd get in trouble for his records as he was the Division Manager for the department.

Before they'd left the country, his Uncle had leant his aide in translating the goblin accounting ledger into language Harry could understand. It'd been a revelation that after learning about all his accounts and taking the heir rings for each estate he was entitled to, the goblins had still allowed Albus Dumbledore to pilfer funds from him with which to pay his flunkies. As far as he could tell Molly hadn't been helping herself to anything more than what was needed to do the shopping she did on his behalf when she would visit the bank with his key in hand. But a whole lot of other people were making very free with his money. Including her youngest son and daughter.

Harry was now a much wiser young man who knew he was being used far more than anyone would believe and by far more people than he knew the faces of. People he'd never even heard of were being paid monthly from his vaults. Sitting with his Uncle going over his ledger, Harry had resolved to tend to the matter before he went back to school in September.

Vernon gave him a few ideas of what he could do while still remaining under the radar given that he had so many different and completely legal names he could claim. So long as he consistently used both his first and middle names he could attach each account to a different surname. And he could use just his initials for his given names instead of having to use the full names. Or use a combination of an initial and a full name. Like Harry J Potter. Or H James Potter. Or even H J Potter if he wanted to. All were legal and acceptable. So between them they'd worked out an appropriate name for each account and a signature for each name. Which is what he put into motion when he'd visited the Alley yesterday. Harry had needed time practicing the different signatures until he could write each one without hesitation or having to stop and think about which signature he needed to use to draw funds from a specific account.

All in all though sitting with Harry and going through his accounts had left Vernon was feeling a lot better about leaving Harry behind in Britain when he was ready to move his family away. The money angle had been the one thing Vernon had been quietly worrying about. Because while the house was his free and clear, he'd still need food and sundry items. Things that took money. Money the boy at fifteen years of age had no way of reliably getting legally. Not to mention there were other bills that had to be paid monthly. Electricity, phone, water; they all cost money monthly and Vernon was worried about how Harry could possibly pay those bills without him and Petunia around to do it for him. But with the kind of money Harry was to inherit, he'd land on his feet quite easily. Even if he dropped out of school before receiving job worthy qualifications, the boy didn't need to worry about getting a job. And with any luck at all, it'd be a long time before anyone realized he and his wife had abandoned the boy before he'd come of age.

His Aunt had also sat in on the meeting. She'd listened with shock as Vernon told her how influentially wealthy her nephew was in the Wizarding World and how he was being defrauded by everyone in authority there. Then she'd come up with a few ideas of her own. Mainly for the goblins who saw nothing wrong with letting people not of the blood defraud a helpless child. Lily had told her how important blood connections were to those people and how if you didn't have the right of blood you couldn't claim a real connection to anyone no matter who they were. It infuriated her that for people who supposedly revered him and his parents, one of whom was her baby sister, they saw nothing; absolutely nothing; wrong with ripping him off behind his back. And the goblins, who's duty it was to watch over his accounts to prevent just such an occurrence, had allowed it to happen. Were still allowing it to happen. Simply because Harry didn't know they were!

Unknown to Harry, Petunia had made Vernon stop in London so she could pay a visit to the wizarding bank and give those nasty, thieving creatures a piece of her mind before they left England. She told him she was aware it might not do any good but she really felt she owed it to Lily and to Harry to try. It was her duty to do for Harry what she believed Lily would've done had she survived to do so. And Lily wouldn't have hesitated to tear those thieving goblins a new one for ripping him off the way they had.

Since Vernon was also outraged at how his nephew had been treated he hadn't argued too hard about it and only remained in the car because of Dudley. Dudley had made it clear the one time he'd been allowed in the Alley, he saw nothing wrong with owning magical devices even as Vernon and Harry had repeatedly told him it was illegal for him as he wasn't magical. He knew taking Dudley back into the Alley would only have his son whining and complaining about all the neat things they wouldn't let him get. Whining and complaining that would likely carry on for weeks before the boy would forget about it. So there was no way Dudley was going into the Alley again.

But Vernon and Petunia had both taken offense at the goblins trying to absolve their own guilt by placing it on an innocent child. So a stop was justified. Someone needed to speak up for the boy and make those disreputable thieving creatures do their bloody job. Which was probably why the goblins had gone along with Harry's plans for the thieves. Neither one had stopped to consider just how Petunia would be able to get into the Alley without Harry to open the portal for her. To be honest Petunia hadn't even considered it might be a problem She just made her way through the tavern into the alley and tapped the appropriate bricks with her finger and the portal opened. She'd then made her way to the bank.

Once in the bank she'd been subjected to a lot of sneering and comments of how it was Harry's fault as the account holder and not their problem if he came of age only to find there was nothing for him to inherit due to his poor management skills. That hadn't lasted for very long.

She understood a lot more than the goblin thought she did and it wasn't long before she was raking the goblin over the coals of her very sharp tongue and browbeating him verbally into agreeing to rectify the situation at once. Showing a greater understanding of the goblin nature than any muggle was supposed to have, Petunia had forbidden the goblin the use of his own name until every last stolen or fraudulently removed coin and item had been returned to her nephews accounts with appropriate interest and every single crook had been dealt with accordingly. And the final person on that list had better be the no-name goblin toe nail scrapping she had the misfortune to be speaking to at that moment. Every person in the bank at the time, whether human or goblin, stared in shocked silence as this mere slip of a human woman took the goblin teller apart with ruthless efficiency.

She let him know, in no uncertain terms, she and her husband were Harry's lawful and legal guardians and had been since the night his parents had died leaving him an orphan when he was nothing more than a helpless fifteen month old infant. She bluntly informed the smug goblin neither of them had signed one single paper allowing anyone to withdraw so much as the lowest valued coin from his vaults. Let alone valuable artifacts, jewels or books. Nor would they have done so even if they'd known he had vaults there. And for certain Harry hadn't signed such a paper since he'd only been a year old at the time. Can goblin babies read and write at a mere one year of age? The terrified goblin mutely shook his head. Why then did he think a human child could? So the Goblin Nation was to make this travesty right with appropriate interest on the debt they owed him since they should have bloody well known any authorization they'd received was fraudulent. The thief wouldn't have gotten away with their crime if the goblins hadn't aided and abetted him or her in doing so. Or she would do her level best to personally ruin them all. And with what they'd allowed to happen to Harry's accounts, she was pretty damn sure she could carry out her threat very damn easily.

The goblin, who had paled when Harry's Aunt had begun loudly taking him to task right in the middle of the bank and in front of his supervisors, had whimpered when she demanded interest be paid on the Debt of Theft. A grim look from the supervisor had told him to agree and get the angry woman out of the bank as quickly as possible. So he had promised the cooperation of the entire Goblin Nation with Lady Tonguelash, not even noticing he had accorded her with high goblin honor by naming her as such. Within a week the locks on every Potter vault had been changed with new keys issued.

Each key was sent straight to Harry and only to Harry via Hedwig whom they had called for the delivery. It was well known in the magical world, even to the goblins, that Harry had a snowy owl he called Hedwig to carry his mail. It was also well known she was smarter and more capable than any other postal delivery bird and no ward had been found that she couldn't get through. The Goblin Nation also knew she couldn't be tampered with now that she wore the Potter owl ring on her leg and the Potter crest medallion on a ribbon around her neck. Nor could those two items be removed from her by anyone but Harry. Nor could he be forced to do it as he wouldn't be able to do so if he wasn't in full possession of his mind and senses. So Hedwig was the obvious choice for getting the newly minted keys to the rightful holder of the accounts.

No one else had a copy of the new keys. Harry hadn't really understood why he was getting new keys until he'd read the letter that came with them. That letter that informed him his Aunt had stopped by the bank before her family had gone wherever they'd gone. According to the letter, he now had a new manager for his accounts and this one would _not_ be allowing anyone not named Potter into his vaults. Nor would his new manager be allowing the withdrawal of coin, books or other items from said vaults just because a person produced a slip of parchment bearing his name or had a key they claimed belonged to one of his vaults. The goblins didn't apologize for allowing others to invade his accounts over the years but they did make it clear such actions would be rectified.

Nor would the goblins be giving out new keys without Harry's personal permission in person. No more would they accept a scribble on a piece of parchment or even muggle paper as his signature authorizing any individual to access his vaults or holdings. Now that they knew what Harry's signature really looked like, from the few times he'd been into the bank personally since he'd started at Hogwarts, it was easy to see how they had been duped for years by frauds. And really his former manager should've stopped the fraud after the first time he'd come to visit and demonstrated his true signature. That he hadn't, was why he was the former manager and not the current one.

Not to mention none of them wanted to deal with his Aunt again should they fail in their duty to him in the matter of protecting his inheritances. Next time she might get physical and though goblins loved to fight, none of them wanted to see how well skilled she might be in physical combat. Her tongue was sharp enough. The last thing the letter had made clear was the Goblin Nation had declared a Debt of Theft was owed to him by themselves and they would be doing all they could to pay this debt in full.

Every goblin that had witnessed the encounter spread the word of the muggle who spoke and thought like a goblin and the name he had bestowed upon her, according her the highest honor his people had to give anyone. None of the goblins involved seemed to have even the slightest problem with a mere human muggle woman being accorded a goblin name of honor in their caverns. She'd earned it. And that was all that mattered to them.

Furthermore, the supervisor who had been on the floor that day insisted the lowly goblin she had spoken to accede to her wishes to forego the use of his name as a sign of the Bank's repentance and respect. The teller had whined and tried to resist as he had nothing to do with the accounts of her nephew. But the supervisor insisted and was backed up by his fellows who saw the issue as something that could bring the angry muggle down on the bank again. The supervisors pointed out it was the tellers who saw the signatures and keys in the hands of the potential customers first. It was they who called for the cart drivers to take the customers to the different vaults and so it was the tellers who first enabled the thievery to occur. Not even the teller in question could argue with that. So the poor teller lost the right to use his chosen name.

Finally, a call for judgement on a Debt of Theft for what had been taken without proper authorization from the Potter Holdings went out bringing many high ranking goblins from around the world to London. If Petunia's request found favor with the convened council, the ruling would allow the goblins to punish the wrongdoers as each was identified thus proving to Lady Tonguelash the goblins were honorable people who were doing what they could to repair their tarnished honor as well as her nephews' Holdings. And hopefully that would be enough to still her very sharp tongue even if it didn't keep her out of their bank in the future.

As for the poor goblin who had been subjected to her tirade, many were already referring to him as ToeScrape because that is what she had called him. He whimpered each time he heard the name because there was nothing honorable or proud in that name. Pride and honor would come in the future when the tale became legend. But that time wasn't now and he truly didn't like being called ToeScrape. But he knew he could do nothing about it because his supervisors wouldn't let him. He also rather thought he deserved it because he had stood there and all but told her the goblins had done nothing wrong in letting the witches and wizards steal from her nephew behind his back. And had been since long before he even knew what money was. Let alone how the people cherished it be they human or goblin. Which his supervisors had pointed out was a lie.

She had pretty much called him a thief, a liar and a child destroyer since Harry had only been a baby when all this thievery had begun. She had pointed out there was no way Harry had signed the paper allowing Albus Dumbledore into his vaults the first time the old man had shown up claiming the right. Nor had he given anyone the keys to his vaults. They should've known those keys had been stolen and stopped the thievery before it could begin. Harry hadn't even been a year and a half old at the time and most certainly hadn't signed any paper granting authorization to the old man. Knowingly or otherwise. So how dare the Goblin Nation claim no fault in this travesty of justice! Even the stupidest person should have known that man was lying when he presented that damn paper to them.

The nation had claimed to respect Harry's parents and yet they showed that respect by allowing an old man to steal from their orphaned child knowing full well Lily and James were dead and could do nothing to protect their child. Allowed the old man to claim to be his rightful guardian when they knew he wasn't any such thing! Artifacts, books, jewels and money. All had gone missing from the Potter vaults under the watchful eye of the Goblin Nation long before Harry could have done anything about it. So how dare he, or any of them, claim it wasn't their fault! If not theirs, then who's seeing as it was their job; nay their DUTY to prevent just such an occurrence.

She didn't know it but it was her referring to him as a person that had won him over. Humans didn't refer to goblins as people. Ever. Yet she had. Even if what she was saying called into question his intelligence and basically stated he had questionable morals and doubtful honor. She had still placed him on the same level as the rest of her people. In that one sentence, she'd not only gained his respect but she'd also shown him where the rightful holder got his unique ability to see the creature races the same as he saw his own race.

By the time the goblin had finished telling the council the outcome of that meeting with Petunia Dursley of Privet Drive, all of the high ranking goblins were shaking in their shoes, wondering if the bank would survive once it got out they had allowed a child to be ripped off not once but repeatedly for well over a decade and to have his inheritance, the only thing he had left of his family and ancestors, swindled away from him bit by bit until only a fraction of it remained in his control. And it wasn't just this bank here in London that would suffer for the fallout. It was any and all of their banks around the world. All of them could feel it if word of this got out. Harry Potter was a very popular human and since it was his inheritance they were talking about, everyone would take an interest here. Because Harry Potter was a very popular child known around the world to all magical population centers.

Moving quickly, they decided they'd better begin doing as Lady Tonguelash had instructed and restore Mr. Potter's rightful inheritance before she came to visit again and discovered they'd done nothing of significance. None of the goblins even thought about the fact they'd just agreed to give goblin accord and high honors to a magicless muggle woman by calling her by a goblin recognized name. As far as they were concerned she was giving them a chance to save themselves and their honor. A chance they were more than well aware they didn't deserve since it was their duty to have realized the old man was trying to defraud the child. They even knew the old man had no right to even claim magical guardianship since the child's Godfather, Sirius Black, was his legal magical guardian having never been convicted of any crime before his untimely demise. Nor had any legal paperwork been submitted since his death to appoint a new magical guardian to the child.

And so by the time the school supply list had arrived, Harry had a fully developed system in place for contacting the goblins when he was in need of funds. Funds only he could get for himself. He'd used this method to get money to pay for his school supplies since he knew Molly most likely wouldn't be able to get them for him even if she wanted to. Which was the main reason he had gone ahead and bought all of his own school supplies. He did know even if she'd been told by Dumbledore to pick up his supplies, she wouldn't be able to do so. For the first time in his life, things were really going well for him and even though he knew he was headed straight into a place where his life had always ended up being in peril, he couldn't help but feel happy.

Molly Weasely, Harry was absolutely positive, had gotten the shock of her life when she had gone to Gringott's to get funds to do the school shopping with, only to be told her key no longer fit a vault in Gringott's Bank. Nor would they simply exchange her key for a new one as the owner of said vault hadn't given her proper authorization for a new key or access to his vaults. In fact, quite a few people were likely to be upset as the summer progressed and they didn't receive their customary pay-outs. Their free ride was crashing to an end. And no one would get more burned by the crash than his dear Headmaster who had authorized all those free rides.

But Harry had demonstrated his true signature for the goblins for each and every account he was the rightful holder of. Even they could tell the signatures they'd been accepting weren't Harry's and, likely as not, never had been. Nor did Harry care what Dumbledore and his merry little band of thieves thought of the reduction in their pay or lifestyles. It was the only thing he had and by God it wasn't going to be stolen from him by people who smiled to his face while they stole through the dark to take everything that wasn't nailed down firmly enough and plotted his demise at every turning of the hour. If Dumbledore honestly thought those thieves deserved the money they'd been getting, he damn well should've sat down with Harry and explained it to him getting his agreement to subsidize their living openly and honestly. But Dumbledore wasn't an honest man. He mostly likely never had been. Certainly he never had been in his dealings with Harry. So most likely it had never occurred to him to just talk with Harry and get his agreement. Harry wasn't a stingy boy and most likely had Dumbledore been able to provide proof the subsidy was needed by the recipient, he would more than likely have agreed to give them something. But Dumbledore hadn't asked. He'd taken.

Bad enough he had no people he could claim any more as family because Dumbledore and his little band of vigilantes had gotten them all killed. Bad enough he couldn't afford to get close to anyone lest either Dumbledore or Lord Voldemort seek to hurt him through hurting them. But damned if he was going to lose his material possessions too. Not without a fight any way.

The train arrived at dusk in Hogsmeade and Harry disembarked with the rest of the students for the short ride in the so-called horseless carriages up to the castle. he and Hermione had argued about that during his second year because Harry, having seen Quirrel die, could see the skeletal horses pulling the carriages where she could not. In his third year he'd learned what they were and had smugly pointed out to Hermione how he'd been right and she was wrong. Naturally, she hadn't apologized to him for claiming he was being stupid and making things up for attention back then. She'd just crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes at him while sticking her nose in the air refusing to acknowledge his words. Because Hermione Granger could never admit when she was wrong.

He wondered just how Dumbledore would act when he saw him. Would he acknowledge the reclamation of Harry's vaults and properties by Harry or would he play it off? If he played it off, how would he attempt to regain control over them all? Because Harry did know Dumbledore had been the one saying who'd get what from his vaults as well as when. He wondered if he'd be able to tell if any of the other teachers or staff had been involved in defrauding him. Their scowls upon seeing him didn't necessarily mean they were involved in ripping him off. The Professors had been scowling at him for four years now. That expression meant nothing to him.

 **Author Note: Please review. This chapter brings us up to present time. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I've certainly spent long enough working on it. I'm trying to post as many chapters each day as I can but I keep finding ways to improve the story with every chapter I load so I'm not getting as many posted as I'd hoped to. Still please review and let me know what you think. And does anyone know how to get the Doc Manager to let me indent my paragraphs?**


	9. Hogwart's Fifth Year Begins

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long by my standards anyway and already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Nine: Hogwart's Fifth Year Begins

Harry sat by himself at the Gryffindor table, still not accepted by his housemates after the fiasco of last year. Hell, after the trials of the last three years really. While most the table ignored him as had become their habit over the years a few spared him a disappointed look. He'd been an out-of-favor Gryffindor for most of his school years and the looks were automatic for the student body now. They clearly hadn't realized that by winning last year's Tournament, he was once again in favor with their Head of House for the moment and should be giving him looks of pride instead.

Then the Weasely twins came and sat down beside him one to either side and George whispered, "Good show, Harry. Mum was livid when she couldn't get into your vaults. Ranted and raved for hours about how she wouldn't be able to do our necessary shopping without those funds and how you'd be going without also since you were counting on her to get your supplies as well like she always does since the Alley is so unsafe for you."

Fred grinned adding, "She even grilled Ronnie Boy on whether or not he was really your friend as he claimed he was since you'd refused the invitation to last year's Quiditch game. Hadn't even been home when Dad went to get you because your family was on vacation at the time. How could he claim he was such a good friend if he hadn't even known you were going on a family vacation?"

George smirked and said, "That's when we pointed out she didn't even have a class list for you so how was she expecting to do your shopping anyway? Because naturally Ronnikins didn't have an answer for her. Except for trying to claim your family never took you anywhere? So how was he supposed to know they'd take you along that time?"

"She rounded on him asking what kind of a family goes on vacation without taking all of the family with them. Of course you'd be going with them as they were your family. As for the shopping supply list, she claimed it was a mix-up in the mailings and old Stumbletoes was getting it for her even as we were heading for the Alley to get our own things. Naturally, said shopping list didn't turn up while we were in the Alley."

"Which to us means old Stumbletoes didn't intend to send it to her at all. I do hope you were able to get your supplies on your own, Harry. But if you didn't, just say the word and we'll get your things for you before your first class as we can go to Hogsmeade any time we wish thanks to our special talents."

Harry smiled and quietly murmured, "Thanks guys but I have what I need. I did my shopping on 31, August. Your Mum never remembers the supplementals anyway. So it worked out better this way."

The twins nodded their understanding. Then George added, "I'd stay as far away from ole Ronnikins as I could get for a bit, though. He's a might bit peeved since Mum promised him a new pet for the one you let escape on him a couple years back. He still won't admit that scrungy ole rat was anything but a normal rat. He was talking about getting a dog. A black, shaggy coated dog that would torment Hermione's cat for him for all the grief ole Crookshanks gave Scabbers. Course, she was counting on your funds to pay for it so he doesn't have it. Add to that the fact his books are clearly secondhand as well as his school robes and you got a real unhappy Ronnikins."

Fred snickered and said, "Mum even told him he couldn't deface the books as Ginny'd be able to use them next year if he didn't destroy them on her first since they took the same electives. Ginny wasn't happy with secondhand robes and books either but she's not as angry as Ronnikins is. Ronnikins was absolutely livid when he found there wasn't even enough coin for a snack bag to tide him over or for Hogsmeade trips. He'll more than likely try to hit you up for coin for that so he can satisfy his sweet tooth. Guard your money bag well, little partner, or he'll have it all before you know it."

"We did come up with some refinements on the plan to make them pay for how they've treated you if you're interested," said George.

"You are going to enact it aren't you?" asked Fred.

Harry had nodded and changed the subject to what pranks they had spent the summer developing and the plans for their shop. He didn't want any eavesdroppers getting a hint as to his plans before he could enact them. He was so unused to talking out loud now the twins had to listen very closely to understand what he was saying to them because his voice was whisper soft. Speaking to Steve and the people in the Alley over the last couple of days had gotten his voice working again but almost two months of no one to talk to at all had made it very soft and quiet. The rest of the meal passed in quiet conversation between the trio as the twins told Harry their plans and how they were making use of the winnings he had given them to launch their shop.

He listened carefully knowing that if he made it through this year, then he'd need to have a way to show he could take care of himself for the people who oversaw the emancipation of minors allowing capable minors to be seen as adults in all societies. He wouldn't be able to apply for it until he was free of the Castle, which was Dumbledore's domain, but it was in the back of his mind already. Had been ever since his Aunt had asked the goblin about the process for wizards and if Harry could use it to get out from under the control of the Old Man.

The goblin had told her he'd need to be able to show he was capable of supporting himself and he couldn't apply until he was at least fifteen. Though he was fifteen now and his vaults would show he had adequate means of self-support, it'd only emancipate him in the magical world. Since he lived in the muggle world, and the age there was sixteen, if he wanted to continue living at Privet Drive, he'd have to wait until the end of the upcoming July. Legal age of adulthood was seventeen in the magical world but eighteen in the muggle world. So while he could claim emancipation in the magical world at fifteen he had to wait until he was sixteen to claim it in the muggle world. Something the goblins would help him with as he needed a verifiable proof of solvency there just as he did in the magical world. With all his holdings and wealth being magical in nature he couldn't prove anything in the muggle world without their help and he knew it.

The goblin had also recommended Harry have another source of an income to back up his inheritance from his parents and godfather though those vaults could be used to prove financial independence if necessary. Lord of Five or not, an independent source of income was recommended when asking for early adult status. Something he was bringing in on his own merit and not as a result of his ancestors largess, would be seen as better proof of his ability to care for himself in the future and be a beneficial adult to the community. This was the only thing he had that could qualify. Of course, the goblin had also said it was better if he could show good marks on his standard Owls, which was another reason Harry had decided to wait until after his sixteenth birthday to try for emancipation.

True to his suspicions, Harry was supposed to be back in the Gryffindor dormitory with the other boys his age. It seemed Professor McGonagal had been successful in her attempt to get him moved back into the tower this summer. Probably because he'd won the Tournament and Dumbledore didn't have a good enough argument against the move to counter her own. It never entered his mind that the old man wouldn't want him in the tower. He knew he wouldn't.

He carefully hid a sneer knowing none of them would understand why he wasn't eagerly looking forward to rooming with them again. But he'd given up on making amends with them or overtures to them after his second year when they'd been part of the group of students bad-mouthing him all over the Castle. He knew without having to be told they all expected him to be dancing for joy at being welcomed back to the tower again now that they'd forgiven him for getting into the contest last year. And none of them would understand why he wasn't. After all, wasn't he proud to be an honorable lion in good standing again? Their face of the generation to the masses?

As he told the twins, he had no intention of sleeping in the dorm though. No matter what anyone said about it. He didn't trust those students and he damn sure didn't trust the ones who'd be sleeping in the same room with him. The twins didn't take offense because they knew Harry wasn't referring to them. But also because they knew he was right. Gryffindor had betrayed Harry too many times already and for the most pathetic reasons. Far too many times. Forgiveness wasn't theirs to give. It was Harry's. And this year he wasn't giving it. Because none of them had asked for forgiveness at all. They hadn't even realized they should. Or needed to.

As he made his way to the private room he'd been using for the past three years he made a mental note to make certain to keep his belongings in his trunk and to keep the trunk locked as much as possible should he be forced back to the tower. He didn't trust them. Any of them as he knew the first hint of wrong doing, and they'd gladly turn on him again. Even if said wrongdoing wasn't by him. It wasn't like they'd ever waited for proof before to stab him in the back. And no matter how many times they'd been proven wrong in the past for their accusations against him, it'd never stopped them from accusing him again the next time rumors began flying. With Ron and Hermione in the Tower, whatever happened to upset the children this year would most certainly be blamed on him. Somehow. Nor would he receive any apologies for their behavior. He never had before.

A hand on the only unoccupied wall and a silent request for additional rooms had the Castle accommodating his wishes and adding a small study, a private lab where he could do his own brewing and a bathing chamber to the room he'd used for the past three years. This year he wouldn't be having to leave his chambers just to get a shower. As the heir of Gryffindor and wearing the ring of Gryffindor, Harry had the right to make the request if he chose.

He'd also requested his rooms be tended to by Dobby and Winky. Only by Dobby and Winky. He'd requested access to them be barred to anyone not specifically approved of by himself as very few people in this Castle could be trusted by him and those who were, were vulnerable to those who weren't. Even Colin could no longer get access to his rooms as all the ghosts, like the portraits, suits of armor and the house-elves, reported to the Headmaster.

No longer would the Headmaster or any of his flunkies have access to Harry's sleeping place. Dobby happily saw to furnishing the rooms for Harry. He even found a small dining table and two matching chairs so Harry wouldn't have to eat in the Great Hall or go to the kitchens for his meals.

Professor McGonagal who was Head of Gryffindor Tower didn't even notice Harry hadn't accompanied the Gryffindor students to the tower. Nor did she notice he wasn't sleeping in the fifth year boys dorm. But then Harry hadn't expected her to because certainly none of the boys would complain about his absence. Ron knew his best chance of turning his fellows against Harry was if Harry wasn't sharing space with them. So he hadn't said a word about Harry not being in the tower. Not even to Hermione.

Two days later he met with the twins in the Room of Requirement to get the full story of their plans and tell them why it mattered so much to him. He spoke of it quietly after first getting their guarantee not to breathe a word of what he said to anyone. Fred and George simply grinned and promised to do their very best to ensure his investment was all that he hoped it would be.

"Hell, Harrikins. We'll help you all we can to become independent of this group of leeches and bloodsuckers. They've done everything they can to steal your life away from you and make you thank them for doing so. You're our silent partner and between the three of us, they don't stand a chance."

The other twin assured him they already had a fully fleshed out business plan and a goblin to help them manage the finance end of things since Hogwarts didn't teach anything about economics. "Bill recommended him to us because he likes pranks as much as we do. So Skald will make certain we remain in the black so we can grow our business and become profitable. His future in the Bank rides on our success so we know he won't double cross us. It's in his best interest to help us all he can."

The first brother took a minute to explain things for Harry. "Turns out that before a goblin can rise up in the ranks there they have to prove their worth by helping grow the wealth of a client. Said client usually becomes their first account if they don't miss too many opportunities for the client. So if Skald does good for us, he'll be able to skip being a cart driver, the door guard and the teller postings and go straight to account manager. For having been just a runner grunt, that's a pretty good promotion for a goblin. For anybody really."

Harry asked, "Can you have him draw up some paperwork I can use to show I'm your backer and investor? He could pass it to my manager so I'll have it if I need to prove I'm mature enough to support myself outside the inheritance my folks left me."

"Sure Harrikins. Skald already has it drawn up because we always planned to share the profits with you," the twins agreed. "As we've said many a time, we consider you to be family. Our little brother."

True to the words the twins had given him on first night, Ron was incredibly hostile towards Harry. He snapped and snarled every time he saw Harry in the halls or during a class. Everyone in the Castle knew Ron was angry with Harry about something but no one could really say what. Most the students just assumed Harry had done or said something on the train that upset Ron. And since Ron was well known as a student who'd never created the problems Harry had, the student body just gave Harry disappointed looks when they saw him. It never even occurred to any of them Harry and Ron hadn't met on the train to school and therefore Harry couldn't have said anything to upset Ron.

Ginerva simply looked at him with puppy dog eyes every time she saw him, silently begging him to have mercy and restore to her family the money they'd been helping themselves to since his first year. That she had no right to said money was a non-issue to her because she considered what belonged to him, belonged to her and her family first. Harry found it easy to ignore those looks as she'd been giving him similar looks since his third year. Albeit for a different reason. But still the same damn look. It was no more effective now than it ever had been before. Harry wanted nothing to do with the girl.

But what floored him was when he realized Hermione was giving him the same death glares, snaps and snarls Ron was. He quickly surmised she'd also been dipping into his vaults. Though why was a mystery to him. It really shouldn't have surprised him nearly as much as it did. But it had never occurred to him she'd be stealing from him as he knew her parents were moderately wealthy people and she was their only child. Nor did either of them have any siblings she'd ever spoken of. So she was their sole heir. She had no need of his money. Cosmetic dentist made a lot of money each year and that's what her parents were. A few of their clients were even highly paid famous people in the muggle world. So why was she stealing from him? Or was she only upset on Ron's behalf?

He brought the matter up to Fred and George for confirmation because he honestly didn't know which was the truth of her attitude. He didn't want to believe she was just as much a thief as Ron and Ginerva were. "I know why your siblings are mad at me," he told them. "Honestly I expected them to be when the goblins sent me my new keys. But why's she mad as well? Was she stealing from me, too?"

They sighed but nodded their heads saying she'd been one of the people receiving payment each month for services rendered. She had a key to one of his vaults herself so that should a need arise, she could fill it without having to wait for her check to come. "We didn't know that until their Mum couldn't access your vault and got turned away by the goblin teller. She then stepped up to the counter and produced her own key demanding to be taken to her vault. We were surprised when she was informed her key no longer fit a vault within their establishment, either."

"She got a panicked look and laid a second key on the counter. That one did get her a ride to the vault connected to it but we could tell she was angry when she rejoined us on the surface."

Fred nodded and added with a sneer that would have looked at home on any Slytherin, "Still, she'd tried to use the rejected key to authorize payment at Flourish and Blotts for the books she wanted to buy. Even after being told by the goblins the key was no good any more."

George gave a sneer of his own as he finished by saying, "Any proper witch or wizard knows if the goblins say your key doesn't fit a vault in their bank then there's no money backing said key."

From what they overheard of her ranting back at the Burrow they'd divined the first key was actually to his vault. She was supposed to have access to it so she could get funds to buy books for whatever challenge that would be facing him that year. But she admitted she was taking additional money from his vault and funneling it into her own. The vault the second key went to which was started by her parents to allow her spending money when she was in school or to just buy books over the summertime.

As far as they were concerned she was every bit the thief Harry thought she was since nothing she was using his vault for was actually to his benefit. They both knew she was only buying books for her own use. Not his. Because they'd never once heard her telling him anything she'd learned from them or even lending the books to him so he could learn from them on his own. They'd helped him through the challenges attending school here brought his way more than she had.

They'd also overheard her telling Ron and Ginny how the money she was getting from his vault and then depositing into her own vault was so she'd have enough coin after she graduated Hogwarts for whatever training or other schooling she chose to pursue. She'd bragged that those coins added to what her parents were setting aside for her Uni education would see her well-educated for whatever career she chose to pursue no matter which world she wanted to work in. And that definitely wasn't in any manner a benefit to Harry. He wouldn't make a profit from whatever education she received. So how could she justify taking his money for that reason and claim it was for him?

The changing of the locks and stopping of all payments to people Harry didn't personally bring into the bank had ended her rich ride. Just as it had for the Weasely clan and for Robindore and his Order of the Hood.

So then Harry sat down with the twins and planned out exactly how to go about getting his revenge against the trio. Harry discovered the twins had been planning this for quite some time. Even before they knew of the thievery. As they had already looked into ways and means Harry could get even with them and had a list of spells and curses for him to go over and try out. Naturally they practiced those spells with Harry and went over scenarios wherein he might be able to use them.

"Payback's going to be a bitch," Fred declared.

"And Destiny is her queen," agreed George.

Together they said, "And you're Destiny's favorite child."

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I've certainly spent long enough working on it. Only about thirty more chapters to go. Whoo Hoo. I'm making progress. Yes!**


	10. Opening Moves

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long by my standards anyway and already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Ten: Opening Moves

During the second week of school, Dumbledore made his move. He had Minerva tell Harry he wished to see him in his office during the lunch hour. Then he proceeded to tell Harry there had been a mix-up at the bank and they were freezing Harry's account while they straightened it out. Harry needed to sign a parchment allowing Dumbledore to handle matters for him so they could unfreeze the accounts again and things could move ahead as they were scheduled to.

"That's ok, Geppetto," Harry said in the same flat voice he always used when talking to an adult he didn't trust while he carefully read the paper Dumbledore wanted him to sign. He pretended not to notice as Dumbledore frowned over the manner of address and the implied disrespect it showed him. "I went to the bank before I got on the train. They told me then about this audit of the accounts. They let me visit my school vault though. So I've all the money I'll need for the year with me. It doesn't matter if my school vault is frozen or not cause I won't need more money while I'm here. What would I spend it on since I'm not allowed off the Castle grounds and Hogwart's doesn't have a student store like other schools do?" He was very careful to say school vault since that was the only vault he was supposed to actually know about as it was the only one he'd ever even held a key to or heard anyone mention in his presence. "They'll finish it soon 'nough -a couple of weeks is what they told me it'd take- and then everything'll open back up again. Not that it really matters, I guess. Since I'll still be here unable to go anywhere or spend any money myself. It's not like the Professors charge us for sitting in their classrooms or anything. Nor do we need to buy the equipment for practical applications of what they teach us theory over."

Dumbledore squirmed and flushed lightly trying to convey a look of being uncomfortable. Both at Harry's very clear insinuation that he was nothing more than a prisoner of the school and at what he needed to admit to get his paper signed. "Well, you see, Harry my boy. That's just it. The small amount of spending money you get for your needs while you're here isn't the only thing that vault pays for. Your Aunt and Uncle receive money each month for your upkeep and there are other bills that need to be paid also. Taxes and the like. All those things get paid out a little bit each month and so long as your accounts are frozen, they aren't being paid. The fall out of this could be disastrous to your reputation."

"Why are my Aunt and Uncle getting paid for my upkeep when I'm not even there? I can see it during the summer cause I do have to live with them then. But during the school year I'm not even there. So why do they get a check now?"

Dumbledore ignored the interruption. He gave Harry a condescending smile as he said, "You have to admit your reputation isn't the best right now, my boy. You've gotten enough bad press in recent years, don't you think? All the terrible things you've been involved in here at school that upset and scared your peers. You have to realize they went home and told their families all about everything that happened here each year. So their parents don't think too kindly of you any more than the children do. Do you really want it known that because you refused to sign a little authorization paper, bills went unpaid for months on end? And more people had to suffer?"

The smile changed to a benevolent one as he concluded, "I'm free to come and go from the school as needed and can easily handle the job of taking care of your obligations for you. But since you are the Holder, the bank needs the authorization from you, now that you're older, to allow me to do it. When you were younger I didn't need your signature because the account wasn't frozen but now I do. So just sign the paper and I'll let you go grab some lunch while it's still being served. I'm sure you're quite hungry." He hit Harry with a spell to make his stomach growl from under the cover of his desk followed by a low level compulsion spell.

Harry's stomach growled and he found his fingers curling around the quill Dumbledore had shoved towards him. Seeming almost in a daze, Harry forced his fingers to twiddle with the quill while he fought with the compulsion spell Dumbledore had just thrown at him. Mentally, he growled. How dare the man try to coerce him into letting him steal from him again! Outwardly, he didn't let it show he knew what the wily old man had just tried to pull. Years of experience with the Dursley had taught him how to think his own thoughts while pretending to do no such thing. He verbally responded to the Headmasters statement so the old man would be unlikely to notice as he fought off the spell.

Acting like he was trying to look more mature, as most teens his age would in these circumstances, Harry tilted his head and said, "So that's why you had Hagrid tell me I could only take a limit of ten galleons for each month. Because you were using my school vault, which is supposed to be for covering my schooling, to pay for other things. I get a measly ten galleons a month while others -strangers- get the rest? Tell me, Headmaster, other than my Aunt and Uncle's stipend, just what and who am I paying for that I know nothing about? You said taxes. But what taxes exactly? And what people will be suffering? For that matter, with you withdrawing money from the vault to pay for these unknown other things and people, how do I know there will actually be enough money in there for me to finish my education here? And while you're at it, please explain how an audit that lasts only a couple of weeks will add up to bills accrued going unpaid for months? That makes no sense."

Dumbledore suppressed a flash of alarm as quickly as it had come and laughed the questions aside pushing the paper forward a little bit more. He sent another compulsion spell at Harry not understanding why the first one hadn't worked. for good measure he also sent a mild confundus spell at him. The boy was just too quick on the uptake and had caught his unintentional slip-up. That could come back to bite him if the boy remembered what he'd said today later on.

"It doesn't matter right now, Harry, my Boy. Once you're older, I'll sit down with you and go over your financial responsibilities and how the financial world works. Just suffice it to say having your accounts frozen like this will really put me behind schedule in paying your obligations. The taxes are to the Ministry and they love to apply late charges and fees whenever they can. But I'm more than capable of tending to your responsibilities for you. After all, it's not like you can do it yourself. Nor should you have to. You have your hands full with your classes and studies here. And from what I saw of your grades you really need to be putting all your effort into them right now. Not worrying about money. All you need to do is sign this parchment letting me handle it. I'll teach you how to handle your Holdings when you're older and more capable of understanding."

"But my Uncle says. . ."

"Harry, I don't care what your Uncle says. He wants his stipend check and, in order for him to get it, you need to sign this paper. Otherwise, I'm sure you'll know all about it when you go home at Christmas time. Your Uncle doesn't strike me as a person who takes his disappointments lightly." Which told Harry the old man wasn't aware his relatives no longer called Privet Drive their home.

Nor did he miss the implied threat in that statement. They both knew Harry never went home until June when school dismissed for the summer. Not that the threat carried any real teeth to it since he knew his Uncle wasn't expecting any such check at all and wouldn't be angrily waiting for Harry at Christmastime. Still Harry didn't want to be sent home then. He'd have a hard time faking being injured when he returned if he was.

Nor, given the leaks in his accounts when he and his Aunt and Uncle had sat in the kitchen of Privet Drive going over them, did he have any doubts in his mind that if Dumbledore once again gained access to his accounts Harry would never see adulthood. Because there was no way Dumbledore would ever want to explain to Harry what he'd spent Harry's childhood using his inheritance for. The old man was an old hand at making problems like Harry would become disappear for good.

For that matter, even if he didn't sign the paperwork, there was no way he was going to see adulthood. If he did sign, then Dumbledore would have to one day account for his thievery and there was no way he'd do that. If he didn't sign, then Dumbledore would have no way to pay his fellow thieves and ran the risk of being exposed for what he was when they spoke out against him. Even if he tried to make them disappear before they could speak out, he'd be running a risk that wasn't wise for someone like him to run. But one thing for sure, him not paying those people their bribe money would mean all those people would turn on him. That meant Dumbledore could possibly get hurt depending on what he was using Harry's money to pay them for. Bully boys don't really like it when their money source dries up. And they have a very nasty habit of turning the skills that made them worth paying on the source of that money well. Usually because they'd also built up a lot of grievances of their own against their so-called benefactor in the time they'd work for him. Which was all the more reason to believe, his life could be numbered in weeks or maybe months if he was lucky.

And in this regard, not one adult he knew was trustworthy. Not that he had ever had a reason to find an adult trustworthy. He hadn't. Well, maybe Steve the neighbor. But even there, he'd only trust Steve so far. After all, he really didn't know why Steve had singled him out to aid as he had. He definitely had no one here amongst the witches and wizards. Most of them were trying to get him killed and those who weren't, only wanted to take advantage of him and use him to their own benefit. Well, a few weren't but they also weren't in a position to help him against the Old Man.

Murmuring almost too quietly to be heard he said, "I see. So that's how you want to play this year. Very well, Old Man. You lose." Dumbledore didn't hear him well enough to understand what he said but the Sorting Hat was siting on a shelf nearby and was close enough to hear every word. It kept it's brim shut however, as it'd do Harry no good to have Dumbledore know what he'd said. But if the Hat had been made with eyes, they'd have been wide open. Finally a victim had found out what kind of a man the current Headmaster truly was and was refusing to be any such thing.

Using the code he had worked out with the goblins, Harry signed the paper knowing it'd buy him time to find a solution to the dilemma. He needed to be here long enough to sit his Owls. After that he could easily disappear and no one would be able to stop him. But Owls were at the end of the school year. So he had to find a way to survive until then. Right under the Old Man's nose. The code he'd used would tell the goblins to keep the old man ignorant for as long as they could and make him work for every single coin they gave him. Not just this month. But every month for as long as they could. It also told them to make the Old Man return to the Bank each month for the coins he claimed to need and to gradually shorten the time between visits if they could. Harry wanted the Old Man out of the Castle as much as possible this year. He'd be safer that way as none of the teachers would act against him without the old man's approval. Dumbledore didn't like it when people messed with his chosen victims without his permission.

The code was simple and allowed anyone who didn't know better to assume the signature was genuine but too much ink here and a backwards letter there, full middle name instead of just the initial and the inclusion of his mother's maiden name made it a language all it's own. Even if Dumbledore went straight to Gringott's with his trusty little paper, he wouldn't be gaining access to Harry's real accounts today. Oh, he'd gain access to some money. Harry couldn't afford for him not to really. Which was why, upon the advice of his Uncle who had a lot of experience in corporate espionage and thievery, they'd set up a small account with trackers on every coin and attached it to this particular code. Every time someone came in showing this signature, their name would be added to a list the goblins were compiling along with the amount of their withdrawal. And the money they withdrew would be traced in an effort to locate all the thieves. Not just the money man. And each person found would be made to account for every knut they'd received just as every money man would.

But only when Harry was safe from anything Dumbledore or his people could do, would the goblins move forward to deal with the conspirators trying to steal from him. They all knew Harry needed at least one more year of formal education before he could say good-bye to this place if it became necessary for his survival. And since Lady Tonguelash was his rightful legal guardian, they'd do what they could to give him the time he needed. Even if it went against the grain for them to knowingly let a thief profit from their crime. In this case, it was either allow a little stealing now or be responsible for the death of their Holder which would allow the thieves to steal the entire account. And since Harry was, or would be, the Lord of Five, that was a lot of money. Furthermore, getting the rightful Holder killed wouldn't restore their tarnished honor. Or make Lady Tonguelash happy with them. In fact, getting him killed would probably bring her back into the Bank and then they'd find out if she could wield a weapon as well as she could use her sharp tongue. The Goblin Nation really wanted to avoid that if they could.

Dumbledore smiled happily with his eyes twinkling as he looked over the parchment now bearing what he assumed was Harry's legal signature. He released the boy as quickly as he could without raising flags and made his plans to be away from the Castle the next day. Harry went down to eat his lunch concealing a sneer of disgust with the blatant thievery of his Headmaster.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I've certainly spent long enough working on it. Since these are very short chappies, I'm getting them loaded as fast as I can so you can enjoy more reading time without waiting. This one is less than 3,000 words so I know you'll read it faster than I wrote it. Ah well. That's the curse of being the writer, I guess.**


	11. Banking Matters Black Estate

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rawlings did. It is long by my standards anyway and already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Eleven: Banking Matters; Black Estate

At the bank, Dumbledore had been distressed to learn, even the Black accounts were now out of his reach despite his attempts to keep Harry from learning about them. When reports had begun coming in of his bought and paid for people not being able to use their keys, he'd naturally gone to the Bank to see what the problem could be. The goblin he'd spoken to had told him of the freeze on Harry's Potter account. So he'd tried to access the Black account to get the money he needed for his people. He needed to pay Mungdungus or who knew what the man would spill the next time he was arrested. Which seemed to happen at least three times a month. And then there were the Li Brothers he used to make problem people disappear when the Death Eaters couldn't be blamed. They actually had a daughter/niece in his school right now and she was trained by them. He knew the only reason that girl was a Hogwarts student was to keep him honest, as the saying went, with them.

But again the goblin refused him. He was informed he couldn't access the Black account without permission from the Board of Trustees who oversaw it. Nor would they tell him who was on that Board because he wasn't a trustee of the account. He'd tried telling them he was Harry's magical guardian and therefore was in charge of all his banking business until Harry came of age. Since he hadn't appointed a Board of Trustees to the account there shouldn't be one. But as the goblin obviously believed there was, he needed to contact them and either dismiss said Board or get himself a place upon it as was his right as Harry's magical guardian and legal representative here in the magical world. So if he could just get a name he'd be on his way.

But that was denied because the goblins knew he was no such thing. They knew he claimed to be their Holder's magical guardian but they also knew he wasn't any such thing. When their Holder began his secondary schooling the Ministry had appointed another as their Holder's Guardian/Protector and that man had all the legal power over their Holder until said Holder finished his education at Hogwarts. But not even his Guardian/Protector could interfere with banking matters pertaining to the young man. Not unless Harry appointed the man as his representative and came here in person to inform the goblins of the appointment. Not any more anyway. Not since that disreputable goblin lost his head for his perfidy.

Just as he had with Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore ignored what he didn't want to acknowledge. He refused to understand the teachers in the Castle were oathbound to protect Harry when and if they could regardless of what manner of threat the boy was facing. He honestly believed Severus had only interfered with his plans for the boy because of a graveside promise made to the boy's dead Mother. And that wasn't binding. Therefore, it could be ignored if the man truly wished to ignore it. Especially since he himself, who was the boys magical guardian, had not felt any kind of a pull on his magical core suggesting he was overstepping his bounds as guardian. Since Harry was a minor, attending Hogwarts under his dominion, he assumed he was his legal and lawful guardian now. As such, Dumbledore thought he had managed to withhold the information of the Black bequest from him on the grounds that as his magical guardian, he handled all legal matters for Harry in the magical world and Harry didn't need to be reminded of his loss so soon. Or so he thought.

But since Dumbledore wasn't really Harry's guardian in any manner, Harry had learned of his Heir to the Black status after his third school year long before Dumbledore had contacted them to withhold the information from him. And now, two years later, there was nothing Dumbledore could do about it though he was unaware Harry actually knew those accounts belonged to him. Goblins didn't discuss client business with other clients. They weren't gossip mongers like Ms. Skeeter. They were goblin bankers.

Regardless of what he believed the Ministry hadn't given him guardianship in any legal manner either on the night the elder Potters had fallen or at any time thereafter. They'd only accorded him the right of placement allowing him to place Harry into the guardianship of his muggle Aunt and Uncle. They'd probably meant to rescind Sirius' right as Harry's magical guardian at the conclusion of his trial but they'd forgotten to actually give him one. So it had never happened. The Dursley couple were Harry's physical guardians while Sirius Black had been, and remained even in death, his legal magical guardian though he had never had the chance to act in that capacity. And while the boy did have his Guardian/Protector at the school that wasn't the same thing as a magical guardian. That meant now the Dursley couple were his only guardians outside the school.

Nor could it be changed. Because Dumbledore had the Potter Wills sealed unread. That meant even if they wanted to, the Ministry couldn't alter his guardianship. Not unless they unsealed the will. And they'd never do that because Dumbledore didn't want it unsealed. Wizengamot ordered or not, and it was not, Dumbledore had no right to assume guardianship in any manner.

Dumbledore had been, and still was, so very afraid of someone else influencing Harry, he'd never dared to point out the need for a new magical guardian when Sirius had died by the lake. Paperwork, no matter how well hidden, could be discovered and guardianship papers had to list factual information that would include Harry's direction. Exactly the information Albus didn't want in the hands of the masses. Therefore, although Dumbledore told people he was Harry's magical guardian, he'd never actually filed any kind of paperwork to prove that claim and so had no legal right to have anything at all to do with Harry's inheritances. He certainly had no right to be withdrawing items from the vaults.

Petunia and Vernon had filed for guardianship so they could make use of Crown services for his care as needed. His medical needs, housing needs, clothing needs and educational needs had all been subsidized by the Crown. What's more, they could prove it. They had paperwork documenting every single quid they had received for Harry's care and not one pence more of it had come from Harry's inheritance vaults than what they were legally entitled to receive as his primary guardians. That paperwork was being held by the goblins now for the day when Harry was safe from Dumbledore's revenge.

To give further lie to Dumbledore's manipulations, Harry felt no great loss per say in regards to his Godfather's demise. Yes, he was sorry the man was dead but it wasn't like they had known each other or he'd made any fun memories during his short life to call upon involving the man. He didn't and hadn't. Dumbledore had made sure Harry knew nothing about the man. Therefore, finding out he'd been named his Godfather's heir the day after his parents had named Sirius Black as Godfather to Harry James Potter wasn't that sad of a thing. Yes, he'd felt a pang of remorse for what might have been but he wasn't missing him. Not like he missed his Mum anyway. Her, he actually had a memory of and had known what she was to have been to him. So her, he'd miss every day of his life. If Dumbledore wanted Harry to feel real remorse, he should've allowed the man out of prison sooner and let them build a relationship. Since he hadn't, there wasn't one and Harry hadn't mourned for the man's passing.

Nor did he feel any real guilt for the man's method of passing away. Sirius had gone out fighting to kill the man he felt betrayed Harry's parents who'd been his friends. Not for a second, did Harry believe Sirius had gone after Peter for Harry's benefit. He knew it had only been about James. James had mattered to both Sirius and Remus. Not Harry. Neither of them knew Harry. Not as anything more than James' son and for both of them Harry was forever a one year old child just learning to say their names. Because Dumbledore had refused to allow them to spend any meaningful time with him over the years. For them, Harry would never grow up.

But the goblins, needing someone human to handle Harry's new inherited vaults, had gone to the three remaining Black adults at Harry's bequest. Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange, whom Voldemort had wasted no time in freeing from Azkaban, and Andromeda Tonks had taken over overseeing the Black vaults until Harry came of age. All three knew they were only managing the accounts until the new owner came of age though Bella and Narcissa both believed the new owner was Draco.

Before they could be named as custodians of the accounts, they had to swear an oath on their magic not to defraud the estate or the new owner in any way, shape or form. Every expense had to be a legitimate Black family debt of honor that had to be paid from the Black accounts. No new debts were allowed to be accrued to the Estate without the full approval of all three sisters, a high ranking bank representative and the owner himself or his representative named in person by him after he was proven to be spell and potion free. Both Holder and his appointed representative, that is. Neither could be under the influence as that could lead to a withdrawal not in the best interest of the Holder and against his will.

Should any one of the three sisters break this agreement, they would lose their magic and be subject to punishment as decreed by goblin law rather than human law. Human law would have given them anything from a fine to time in Azkaban to banishment from the magical world with their wand snapped and their core bound. But goblin law was different. Under goblin law, if they broke their oath they had better be praying they were sentenced to working in the goblin mines. Because that was the nicest of their punishments. And they'd be praying for death long before they died.

The oath was really more for Bellatrix than it was Narcissa or Andromeda. It protected them but not to the same degree. Because they didn't wear a certain tattoo on their arm as she did. The oath meant there was no way Bellatrix could sign any of it over to her Lord and Master or even allow her husband and brother-in-law access to the funds. Nor could she take out the funds herself and turn them over to her Lord and Master. If she even tried her own magic would punish her for it. Of course, she was supposed to be in Azkaban right now so it was unlikely she'd actually try to do any such thing as her presence here gave the goblins blackmail over her and she was Slytherin enough, even in her insanity, to recognize that. Though she had safe harbor in the Bank itself, she couldn't stay here forever and if she tried to defraud their client, they could easily slip the information of when she was here to the DMLE who'd be waiting for her to leave the premises.

Andromeda had no problem signing the agreement. She was the only one of the sisters who knew who the new owner actually was. She also knew Sirius well enough to know this had truly been his wish and that although Sirius had hated the ancestral home, he didn't want it falling into unfriendly hands that wouldn't do their best to preserve it for future generations. She was well aware he'd always meant to one day remove Harry as his heir since Harry was already the heir of the Potter Estate and a Seat of Power. Giving him the Black Estate and a second Seat of Power would be placing too much on his shoulders since he'd need to have two wives to live up to his responsibilities to both Estates. Since both Estates were old power, they could only be inherited by a son. So Sirius had always intended to have his own child but, thanks to being consigned to a living death in Azkaban, he'd never gotten around to doing so. Naming Harry as his heir had prevented the Estate from being destroyed and wasted by the unworthy.

Narcissa only had a few qualms about why the oath was necessary since she certainly wouldn't act against the best interest of her own child. Haughtily she said, "Draco should know I'd take care of his inheritance for him without needing to swear an oath on the matter."

But the goblins had anticipated this and explained the oath was mainly for Mrs. LeStrange who was sworn to serve He Who Must Not Be Named with all that she owned. That would include the Black Estate if she could figure out a way to get it to him. Mr. Sirius Black didn't want his ancestral home and lands falling into his hands given the state he reduced other once proud estates to over his years as a Dark Lord. But it was unfair to ask only Mrs LeStrange to swear the oath. Plus, Lady Malfoy's husband was a known follower of said Dark Lord as well. Was she trying to tell them her husband would be unable to talk her into making a withdrawal for him or granting access to the holdings of the Estate to him? Withdrawal or access he could then easily turn over to his Lord and Master? The oath offered her protection just as it did Mrs. LeStrange. With that phrasing Narcissa knew the oath really was for her protection as well as Bella's. So she signed the agreement as well and gave her oath.

Bellatrix had a harder time as she knew her Lord was waiting for the Black Estates to fall into his hands. She knew her master would have one fit after another when he discovered the Estate was beyond his reach until Draco came of age. But, like Sirius, she'd no desire to see her ancestral home fall into ruin and eventually she was able to force the oath out and sign the agreement. Her master, she knew, had no respect for the Estates he laid claim to because he wasn't a pureblood and didn't understand the reverence his followers held for them. The history in those Estates wasn't his history and so it meant nothing to him.

Only after the agreement was signed and all three had given their oath did the goblin tell the three sisters exactly who the new owner actually was. Narcissa gasped and demanded to know, "Exactly how did that boy come to inherit my family estate. He isn't a Black by blood."

Andromeda rolled her eyes and explained it to her as Bella laughed. As soon as the goblin had named Harry Potter as the Holder of the account it had flashed into her mind how he could have inherited over Draco.

"Cissy," Andromeda said calmly, "Harry is indeed a Black of the Blood. His paternal grandmother was Dorea Black; twin sister to Orion Black who you know was Sirius' father and the heir of Arcturus. Added to his Godfather status that was enough for Sirius to use the old laws and name Harry as his heir until he could produce a son of his own. Since Orion was heir to Arcturus Black who had been the Black of the Black when they were growing up, and Sirius was Orion's heir, that makes your son further down the chain of inheritance than Harry. So Draco was Harry's heir and nothing more until the day arrived when Harry had a second son to take the title from him. And because Orion passed away before Arcturus did, that elevated Sirius to being his heir directly. Since he was in Azkaban, he couldn't produce a child of his own to replace Harry as his heir. But because Harry is a Black by blood Arcturus didn't remove him from the line of succession as was his right. Therefore, Draco is Harry's heir until Harry has either a second son by his first wife or takes a second wife for the Estate and produces a child with her."

Like Andromeda, Bellatrix had always known the Potter Child was a Black of the blood just as much as Draco was. Only Narcissa had failed to remember who Potter's Grandmother had been. She just hadn't let herself think about it since she knew her Lord and master was determined to kill the child. Or die trying to anyway. With that boy's luck, that had a very good chance of happening actually and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about it.

And since Arcturus, who'd outlived Orion, hadn't liked the Dark Lord at all, she had no trouble believing the old man had gleefully accepted Sirius' choice in heir. It helped that young Potter actually was higher in the line of succession than Draco as well. Potter's grandmother was actually closer to the line of succession than her own parents had been. Which meant Potter was closer than Draco though they were the same age. And as those two boys were all that was left of the Black menfolk, of course the estate would go to Potter now.

When the sisters had calmed down, one from being angry and the other amused, the goblin explained the problems Harry was having with Dumbledore and how the old man was attempting to hoodwink the child out of every single knut of his inheritance he could before the boy reached adulthood and how furious he was going to be when he found out he wasn't in charge of the Black Estates. The goblin went into detail, as he'd been instructed by Harry to do, so the sisters would be fully warned as to what to watch out for and just who they knew for sure was benefitting illegally off of Mr. Potter's orphan state. Andromeda narrowed her eyes when she heard her own daughter's name read off as someone taking a monthly payment from the Potter accounts. "Oh, she won't be doing that any more," she announced in a firm, no-nonsense voice. "Not when I'm through with her anyway."

"Want some help, Dromie?" asked Narcissa purring in anticipation. Even Bella, who was the eldest of the three, was looking at her sister questioningly.

"So long as the injuries aren't permanent or deadly, sure. It should be like old times again. Nymphadora seems to have forgotten she's to be upholding the law. Not breaking it when it suits her purposes. And stealing from a child simply because you think he doesn't know of the availability of what you're helping yourself to, is most definitely not upholding the law. I strongly doubt Harry even knows her name. She definitely hasn't earned this coin she's getting each month from his estate."

The three sisters tracked down one Nymphadora Tonks in her small apartment and gave her the fright of her life when they proceeded to ream her out royally for having stolen money from a little orphan boy for services rendered. Not even Dora's attempt to arrest Bella derailed the reaming she was undergoing.

Bella fingering her favorite knife, told her niece in no uncertain terms she wanted to know exactly what services Dora had rendered a little boy that would require a monthly payment for years and she'd better like the answer or little Dora was going to be very unhappy. "Was she really that desperate she had to go molesting little kids?," she asked her in her little girl voice that made her opponent shiver in fear. Because as far as Bella knew, Harry had only been eleven when Dora started getting paid for services rendered this was something Bella actually did want to know. The family line was well known for instability in it's members and if Dora was suffering from this particular problem then the family needed to keep an eye on her.

Narcissa, playing with an ornate ring she wore, told her, "if I even heard a whisper of someone treating my Draco like that they'd be dead the next time they ate or drank something. Do I need to have you over for dinner one night soon, Dora?" That the ring she was playing with was one created to hold the poison of choice for the wearer back in the day when such poisoning was commonplace, had only hammered her meaning home to all of them. The question had just put everything over the top for the young auror.

Everyone thought Bellatrix was the Black sister to watch out for but in this one perfect moment in time Nymphadora Tonks knew that wasn't true. The truth was Narcissa was the deadliest of them all simply because with her, you'd never see your death coming until you were gasping out your final breath. If you even knew she'd killed you then! And when you died, not one person would be able to offer even the slightest shred of proof she'd been the one who killed you. So not one of the four women in the room had any doubt that was anything but the cold hard truth.

Unfortunately, Dora, who preferred to be called by her last name only, had no idea what they were talking about since she didn't take any money from any little kids ever. Not for anything. She even brought out her own accounts ledger to prove it. The only money she got on a regular basis was her auror's paycheck and not a single knut more than it should be for her rank. It took time but she was finally able to convince her Mother and Aunts that she wasn't being paid out of the Black vaults for anything. But she was furious anyone would think she was. So as soon as the women had left her apartment she took her ledger and went to see her boss. She had a crime to report.

This, unknown to Harry, had caused a new investigation to be opened up in the Auror's division because Nymphadora Tonks didn't appreciate someone making her out to be a person who stole from orphans no matter what the cause or reasoning was. She was a law abiding girl and she had a particular soft spot for orphans due to the well-known story of Harry Potter and his orphan status. She'd gotten so outraged at the idea the goblins thought she was stealing from an orphan she'd forgotten all about arresting her Aunt.

So Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimegour were both looking into the accusations as well. They'd both chewed the young auror a new one for failing to call for back-up to arrest the notorious Bellatrix LeStrange but had let it slide in reference to what the woman had shown up over. The three Black sisters, who not only didn't care for the possibility that their estate had been stolen from and manipulated for years now but that someone was doing it because they knew it was to go to a child who wouldn't learn of their thievery for years yet if he ever did, were also looking into the matter because now they believed they knew this person was using others, unknowingly on their part, as a front for the theft. And that this person, or persons, had used their daughter/niece to enable at least a fraction of his or her theft made the crime even worse in their eyes. This person, or persons, was using family to steal from the rightful Lord of their family.

All three women were thinking the Dark Lord might be bad news but even he drew the line at ripping off children. Well, not really since he did claim their inheritances as his once he gained their parent as followers. But at least he also took in the displaced children and made sure they didn't go without once he took their family homes as his own. Sort of. This thief didn't appear to be planning to do that even. He or she was just flat-out stealing every copper knut and priceless artifact they could lay their hands on.

Meanwhile Dumbledore had yet to realize just how deep in the stew he'd fallen. He sauntered into the bank and presented both the letter he'd received on Harry's behalf informing Harry of the frozen nature of his accounts as well as why they'd been frozen and then the letter of authorization letter he'd coerced Harry into signing using a compulsion spell as well as a mild confundus spell so that he wouldn't remember the threats Dumbledore had leveled against him or what he'd read on the paperwork he'd signed if he had even understood all the big words and legal terms to begin with. Dumbledore truly believed Harry Potter was so simple-minded he bordered on being a totally idiot. Because that's what his bought and paid for spy, Hermione Granger, told him. It never occurred to him, she didn't know Harry Potter any better than he did.

What he didn't know was that since both those spells work on the mind of the victim, they were totally ineffective on Harry unless enough magic was powering them knock anyone else out for a week. The goblins had given Harry his heir rings, which Dumbledore hadn't noticed Harry was wearing, and those rings protected Harry from a wide variety of spells and potions meant to control a person as well. And that was in addition to Harry's own natural resistance to mind altering spells and potions. So even if Harry hadn't realized he was under attack and fought back on his own, his rings would've alerted him to the problem. If they didn't just negate the attack outright. But then, Dumbledore didn't know Harry had his rings now.

Sure, Harry would appear to fall under them in the beginning, allowing the caster to believe they were working so they wouldn't automatically increase the power of their spell casting but Harry was definitely the master of his own mind and he was far too stubborn to ever let anyone tell him what he believed. Too many years of not being able to control even the slightest aspect of his life outside the security of his own mind had made Harry fiercely determined to retain control over his own thoughts no matter who thought that right should belong to them.

Even Voldemort could've told Dumbledore Harry was the complete master of his own mind because he'd tried the Imperious Curse on Harry only to have him throw it off. Twice! And he could imperious anyone! If that curse wouldn't work, then no mere Confundus or Compulsion spell would. No matter how powerful the caster was. Strength of mind was more important than strength of magic when it came to the mind arts spells effectiveness. Not that Dumbledore would've listened since he never listened to anyone who wasn't singing his praises or telling him what he wanted to hear.

The goblin upon seeing the parchment with it's coded signature smiled nastily at Dumbledore. He'd been hoping he'd be the first to see this particular parchment. It was going to be a fun day at the bank today. He pressed a button under his counter and a very special goblin hurried into the lobby.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I've certainly spent long enough working on it. Since these are very short chappies, I'm getting them loaded as fast as I can so you can enjoy more reading time without waiting. This one is less than 3,000 words so I know you'll read it faster than I wrote it. Ah well. That's the curse of being the writer, I guess.**


	12. Library Confrontations

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rowlings did. oops Thank you my reviewer who pointed out my error here. Just a simple mis-struck key. I do that a lot when I'm tired. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do. Of course that means I actually need to quit trying to improve them if I'm ever to get them loaded. Two years of proof reading and I'm still discovering ways to improve each chapter.**

Chapter Twelve: Library Confrontation

While Dumbledore was being led merrily around by the nose by a goblin assigned to this duty by the Nation, Hermione, Ron and Ginny decided it was time they confronted Harry about what they considered his theft of their assets. Dumbledore had told all three of them not to mention it to him as he, Dumbledore, would get it straightened out and Harry didn't realize they were drawing a salary from his accounts. But all three were upset over their missing money and completely sure of themselves where dealing with Harry was concerned. They were positive they could go to him and get their keys restored without him ever realizing exactly what they were doing. Because they believed he was simply too stupid. That and too much under their thumb so as not to lose their friendship. So they set out to track him down.

Since he wasn't staying in the tower, they had to hunt him down in the Castle itself. Instead of looking here, there and everywhere they went straight to their favorite Professor. She always believed anything they chose to tell her no matter how ridiculous or obviously untrue it was. Especially if it included something bad Harry had done or was doing. Professor McGonagal really didn't like Harry Potter and but she did like them.

They got the Deputy Headmistress to tell them where they might find him using the excuse they wanted to see if they could persuade him to come back to the tower or at least join them in the common room for a bit. She told them if he wasn't in a class or the Great Hall for a meal he'd either be in his room or in the Library. And no, she couldn't give them the password to his old room or even tell them for sure where it was because she didn't know. Though she didn't understand why they needed to look for him at all as he was back in the fifth year dorm this year. Surely they could just wait in the common room for him to show?

They glossed over the fact that he wasn't staying in the tower right now by telling her they wanted to talk and visit with him now. Not whenever he finally decided to return to the tower. None of them wanted to tell her he wasn't staying in Gryffindor Tower. They all knew it worked to their advantage having him elsewhere in the Castle where he couldn't as easily counter their actions against him.

They waylaid him in the library, where he was sitting alone at a table studying. The library was full of studying students. Both from Slytherin and from Ravenclaw. And in their year to boot. The trio smiled smugly to each other knowing that those two groups would make sure it got around the Castle very quickly about how they'd once again put Harry Potter in his place. Which to them was under their heel and doing everything they told him to do. It could only benefit them to have their year mates seeing them pulling his strings while he danced to their tune.

The two Weasely siblings straightened their spines and followed Hermione as she marched across the room to where Harry was sitting alone at a table reading and taking notes from a book. She was their leader and they took their cues from her as always. Making sure she had the attention of the room, Hermione demanded, "Harry Potter, you stop ignoring us right now. We've been trying to talk to you for days now and you keep ignoring us. We're your friends, Harry. Did you forget that over the summer? You know we're the only friends you have and it isn't wise to ignore your friends. You just might wake up one day to discover you no longer have them. We've told you this before."

"But that isn't important right now. Right now, we want to talk to you about our vaults and why our keys no longer grant us access to them. We demand you give them back to us right now." She held out her hand as if she expected him to meekly lay her missing key in her palm. Slightly behind her both Ron, who was smiling smugly, and Ginny who was trying for a 'I'm a sweet innocent girl' smile, both held out their hands as well. Both were eyeing the tables of students closest to them from the corner of their eyes making sure the other students saw what was taking place now with Harry Potter. naturally they were ignoring the stacks and Madam Pince as the Librarian didn't like them and would never like anything they were involved in.

Looking up from his book, Harry set down the quill he'd been taking notes with on the special blotter pad so ink wouldn't leak all over his parchment. The pad would absorb any ink left on the quill tip so it could be stored safely. Speaking clearly but still in that whisper quiet voice that was now normal for him, Harry replied, "Excuse me, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Could you be a little more specific as to what vaults I've supposedly blocked you from entering? And just why it is, you believe I have that kind of authority? Do I look like a goblin to you? Or maybe I look like your parents, hmm? As far as I know, the only person who could legally give you a vault, or vault access, would be your parents. And forgive me but there's no way in hell I'm claiming any of you as my children."

Ron and Ginerva's smiles faltered as their focus sharpened on Harry. Their hands dropped. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. He was supposed to be intimidated by an angry Hermione acting in parental mode. It'd always worked that way before. What had changed? Hermione sneered at Harry making sure of course none of the watching students saw her doing so while her mind scrambled to find something to say that would put the ball back in her hands. She couldn't let him control the conversation. If she did, she just knew the school rumors wouldn't go in her favor.

He kept speaking not giving any of them a chance to say anything. He knew now was the best time to put the plan he and the twins had worked out into motion. Dumbledore wasn't in the Castle to interfere and none of the teachers were present to stop him either. Madam Pince was unlikely to do anything once she realized what was happening. He just had to get them where he wanted them first.

"The only vault I have access to is my school vault and if you think you're entitled to access it, pray tell me just what the three of you have done to deserve it. As far as I'm aware, only someone by the name of Potter has a right to what's in that vault. Since I'm the only person I know who carries that name, I'm the only person I know who has a right to the contents of my vault. When was it I adopted any of you into my family? And why then did you not receive your key upon the completion of your adoptions?"

Hermione had kept her voice down, considering she did hold the library as almost a holy place but she was quietly fuming now. How dare Harry disobey her! He was hers to command and order around as she chose. Since when did he get to call the shots?

Ginny, as usual, just contented herself with simply alternating between the puppy dog eyes, simpering at him in what she thought was a seductive manner but was actually nauseating to any boy their age, and glaring furiously at him. She'd given up on the sweet girl smile as she knew it wasn't working for her. She wasn't a sweet innocent girl to anyone who knew her except for her father and two oldest brothers.

But Ron was incapable of that kind of self control and he lost it. "You rotten sod. You know damn well what vaults we're talking about. We earned the right to those funds and you changing the bloody damn locks doesn't change the fact that you owe us," he yelled forgetting the library was full of studying students and an adult who didn't appreciate loud voices. "Give me my key! Now! I have plans for that money and by Merlin you aren't taking it away from me!"

"I owe you? For what? And what vaults are you talking about, Ronald? I thought your parents didn't earn enough for multiple vaults. Did your father get a pay increase? Congratulations." In fact, Arthur Weasely had received a pay raise but Ronald had no reason to know that yet. Harry had arranged it with the goblins because he felt Mr. Weasely was underpaid by the Ministry for the amount of work he and his partner did. So he'd arranged for both men to get a small raise in their pay so long as they didn't discover where it was coming from.

"Our personal vaults, Harry," simpered Ginny, squinting her eyes to try and disguise the glint of anger in them while at the same time taking the focus off her fuming brother. She was trying to give Ron time to remember where they were and what was supposed to be happening here. "The ones you gave the Headmaster permission to open for us. You said we deserved to have them because of what good friends we've been to you."

"Yeah," snarled Ron. "We earned the money in those vaults and we demand you give us back our keys. Bad enough you lost me my pet because you had to go showboating again. Now you try to take away my money too? After all we went through for you just so you could get more fame and glory for yourself, you really think you can do this? Take away our money just because? You give me back my key right now and I'll forget you even tried such a stupid stunt."

"Oh. I gave the Headmaster permission to open vaults for the three of you? Superceded your parents authority to provide for you? Undermined them? When was this?"

"You know when, Harry. Don't pretend to be any stupider than I know you are. You had to know of those vaults to recall our keys. I'm sure the goblins told you everything about them when they told you how much we're getting from your vaults," sneered Hermione in a superior tone of voice. "So just give them back already and as Ron says we'll agree to forget this conversation ever took place. I'll even forgive you for costing me the extra books I wanted to buy this year."

But Harry had turned to Ron as he stood up and ignored Hermione's input. "You've earned the right to those funds have you? Funds from my school vault. Set up for me by my parents when I was born. Money taken from me without either my knowledge or permission. For something. Though I'm not sure what." He held up a hand when Ron went to retort. "I'm not finished, Ronald Weasely. I listened to you shouting out your little rant like a two year old denied his sweets. Now you will listen to me."

"Let's examine your claims, shall we? Which of you is named Potter? Because I could swear the name on my school vault reads Harry James Potter and I know damn well it doesn't list anyone else. So that means one of you has stolen my name just as you've spent the last several years trashing my reputation. As I just heard you try to do yet again. Either that or I'm not who I think I am. I could also swear you two are named Weasely. Doesn't sound anything like Potter. and her name is Granger. Again, doesn't sound anything like Potter."

"She," He pointed a finger at Ginny while still glaring at Ron. "says I told the Headmaster you earned those vaults by being my friend. When exactly did I say that? And why the hell would I or anyone else pay someone for being their friend? People, normal people do not pay others to be their friend. That's such a pathetic lie even Crabbe and Goyle could see through it. I think. But I guess I can't be too surprised she didn't. After all, we do know what she likes to write her secrets in, don't we?"

Ginny pales as she gasped not believing he'd say something like that to or about her in public like this. Ron opened his mouth to angrily respond again but Harry waved his hand and all of a sudden Ron found he couldn't make a sound. Harry wasn't finished speaking yet and didn't feel like dealing with his temper tantrum. He also knew he couldn't speak over a bellowing Ron. Ron could out bellow Howler Molly. He spoke on ignoring Ron's angry theatrics.

"If you can't keep your temper in check, Hothead, I'll silence you myself. You can speak when I've had my say and not before then."

"Now, let's see. You say you earned the right to have access to my school vault but dang if I know how you did that seeing as how I know I never told the goblins to give you access and since your name isn't Potter either my Aunt, Uncle or I would've had to. I am the Holder of that account and my Aunt and Uncle are my legal guardians. You do know what that term means don't you? Legal? I'll explain it just in case you don't. It means, no one gets in that account without permission from one of the three of us."

Ginny tried to interrupt again but Harry cut her off just as he had Ron, lifting his other hand in warning. "Shut up, Ginerva. I refuse to listen to you until you can actually manage to talk like a real person and not some simpleton who's practicing for the role of a female impersonator." He paused for a moment and then added, "Or an in-heat alley cat looking for a mate." He shivered theatrically. "Either way, I don't want to hear your practice session right now." Several of the kids in the room snickered quietly, silently agreeing with him about the way she liked to talk. Especially when Harry was nearby and could hear her.

"Anyway, back to my point. As my relatives don't have a clue about my inheritance in this world, I'm one hundred percent certain they did no such thing. Nor did I. I'm also positive not a one of you has so much as one single piece of parchment with my signature on it proclaiming your right to have access to my school vault or to draw funds off of it. Now how else could you've earned that right?"

"Hmm. Well, I guess you could've been named in my parents will but then; how would you know of that since that will has been lost for about fourteen or so years now? And you Ginerva weren't even born when they died so how would you have been named by them at all? However, if that is how you're claiming right to my school vault then by all means, do tell me where it is. I'd love to have my parents last will and testament read aloud to all the beneficiaries can get what my parents wanted them to have. It'd be nice to finally settler their estate at long last." He waited, eyeing each of them speculatively. All three teens just held silent, glaring at him with hatred and scorn. He was mocking and ridiculing them and they hated hm for it. Not one of them realized how he must have felt the same way when they were doing it to him. The only thought in their minds was that when they got their keys returned he would pay for this scene right now.

"No? Well, considering you two were only babies at that time as was I, I guess it was too much to hope for that you might actually know something worthwhile." He sneered at his former best mate with such scorn the few observers in the library who could see the expression fully were taken aback. "Anyway, since it's clear that's not how you earned the right either, I guess you must fit under the category of those who are paid for 'Services Rendered'."

He stressed the last two words and made sure he said them in as loud of a voice as he could presently manage which was still really quiet. Not that it truly mattered as everyone in the Library was holding absolutely still so as not to miss a single word. By this time school had been back in session long enough for the students to realize if they wanted to hear what Harry Potter said from his own lips they needed to listen carefully and closely as he now had a very soft quiet speaking voice which he wouldn't raise just because they wanted to listen in. No one was even pretending they were working on their homework research lest the scratching of a quill cause them to miss a pivotal word. And so far there'd been quite a few of those. Not to mention some good insults. All the listening students were determined to memorize those so they could use them personally.

Almost absently, Harry reached for his quill cap and slid it over the sharpened point of the quill making sure the ink he'd been using with it was completely blotted away so as not to cake on the quill tip. He then capped his ink bottle while he watched them carefully. Harry almost smirked as he saw all three straighten their spines and look as haughty as they knew how. Behind them, the librarian, Madam Pince, who'd been coming over to tell them to take it somewhere else, sneered when she heard the term 'services rendered' and Harry couldn't help but echo her expression as his eyes went flinty hard and cold as ice. She knew as well as he did what that term referred to when it was used in this context.

"Really, Ronald? You're that devoid of anything resembling personal pride and honor you're willing to claim Services Rendered? Honestly? You're going to make that claim?"

Ron didn't even have the sense to wonder what Harry thought the term meant as he bobbed his head furiously, still trying desperately to speak. He gestured wildly but Harry did nothing but sneer at him before looking at the two girls. Hermione, who certainly should know what the term meant, was glaring at him in righteous outrage and fury. Too angry to bother remembering her muggle upbringing and what that term in this context actually meant. She was so furious she wasn't even truly listening to him any more. The situation had gotten out of her control and she didn't know what to do about it. Ginerva looked slightly confused but it was clear she was just as angry as Hermione. She was also determined to regain her access to his money. So whatever she had to agree to, she would. So long as she had a bank key in her hot little hand when she left this room.

"You three disgust me. I thought you girls at least would know what that term means and be ashamed to be taking coin under such a classification. You do know what the term 'services rendered' means, don't you? Or are you really that stupid?" He gave them a look of total disgust.

"Now I can see the girls spreading them for a little extra cash. Clearly they are just little whores looking for a nice bed to cash in on. And there are plenty of nice little rich boys here in the Castle who'd be happy to gain a little experience in that area before they graduate and marry their chosen brides. Granted, those brides won't be the girls willing to lay down and spread them for a fee but you can't have everything, now can you?"

"But Ronald, you surprise me. I never would've thought you'd follow their lead that far. Bending over and baring your arse for a chocolate frog? Really? Disgusting. I mean I knew you don't actually do any real studying but come on. Where's your pride man? That's really how you plan to get through Hogwarts? On your belly like a worm? Sticking your bare arse in the air for someone else's pleasure?"

People were grinning wolfishly as they realized this was the showdown the whole school had been waiting for. Some were wincing at the language Harry was using as they'd been gently raised and his language was rather crude. But they also knew Ronald Weasely and knew crude was sometimes the best way to deal with him. Nor were they about to leave the room. They had front row seats for the long awaited showdown and they weren't about to miss it just because of some crude language. Harry Potter against Dumbledore's Triad. And Harry Potter was winning.

"I know being the sixth son has always stuck in your crawl. But to go that far! . . .How degrading! Guess you really did want to become known for something none of your brothers ever did. But then, they actually take pride in themselves don't they? You can't even scrape together enough pride in yourself to use table manners when dining in mixed company. So why should it surprise me you're nothing but a bought and paid for boytoy for your school mates?" He fixed Ron with a look of disappointed disgust before turning the same look on first Hermione and then Ginerva before turning his attention back to Ronald.

"However, even if you did sell your virtue down the river, it sure as hell wasn't to me and as I'm the last living Potter in the whole damn world as far as I know, I'd say whomever you rendered your services to, is who you should be speaking with now. Servicing that person's deviancy certainly doesn't give you a right to access my school vault to buy yourself consolation chocolates and trinkets so you can face your own image in the mirror the morning after."

He spared a glance at Hermione as he added, "Or books either."

Looking in their general direction but not making eye contact with any of them he said, "Nor does servicing whomever you chose to sell yourselves to in any manner do me a service. Therefore, access to my vaults as payment, wasn't something your john or johns had to offer you as payment. And since each of you implicated the Headmaster in your claim on my vaults, I do believe you should be going to him with your petty little complaints of being locked out now. Just because you want to ride his jolly stick doesn't mean I should be paying for your fun." Quills under silencing spells were scratching desperately now as no one wanted to miss a word of this explosive argument.

He waited for them to get the message before continuing to tear their reputation to shreds. His voice was getting rough from the effort to actually say so much. He wanted to rub his throat but didn't dare as that would take away from the image he was trying to present right now. From behind him, someone hit him with a Soothing Throat charm normally used in the medical wing when a student had a bit of a cough or sore throat.

Harry's shoulders relaxed slightly as the charm made his throat feel a great deal better and he could continue to speak without the pain. "Next time you decide to sell your honor, do try to make certain the john actually has the funds to pay you for your services. I'd suggest getting your payment upfront so this doesn't happen again. But then I'm not a whore so I don't know the rules of the trade as well as the three of you. But do try to get his proper name. It's so embarrassing to wake up in the morning and find he forgot to pay you for your services, don't you think? Even worse to discover you don't have the right name to track him down, isn't it? That's only good business sense." He dismissed them as none of the trio could manage to do more than sputter in outrage.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I've certainly spent long enough working on it. Since these are very short chappies, I'm getting them loaded as fast as I can so you can enjoy more reading time without waiting. This scene continues in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. And just so you know this scene is what started the entire story. I'd read a story where the three of them hacked me off royally but the author didn't have Harry react as I thought a normal fifteen year old would. As any of my sons would have. So I wrote this scene out and it snowballed.**


	13. Library Confrontation - Hermione

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rawlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rowlings did. oops Thank you my reviewer who pointed out my error here. Just a simple mis-struck key. I do that a lot when I'm tired. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Thirteen: Library Confrontation - Hermione

At a nearby table, Draco and his cronies were pretending to work on an assignment for their upcoming Potions class but in reality, with silencing charms on their quills, they were carefully copying every word of the confrontation so they could dissect it later or pass it along to those who could use the information to best advantage. Each of them was praying their Head of House who was hiding in the stacks as usual wouldn't send them out of the Library until the Confrontation of the Ages was completed. They were all listening closely as Harry Potter told off the know-it-all mudblood and her two cronies. Like Harry and her two sidekicks, they knew the two purebloods followed the mudblood's direction. They'd never had any doubts about that. Which in their opinion was just wrong. Purebloods, blood traitors or not, should never be taking directions from a mudblood.

The group wasn't even daring to growl softly as was their usual habit in a situation like this. Harry's voice was too soft and quiet for that. If they did, they might miss something. They had to listen closely as his voice really had changed over the summer. It was now so soft and quiet that if they didn't listen with their full attention, they wouldn't have heard what he said at all. And they were used to listening to Professor Snape who whispered louder than Potter was talking now. All three began snickering as soon as they understood exactly what the trio was being accused of and what they had inadvertently agreed had been the reason they felt entitled to access Harry's inheritance. That was until they were silenced by their tablemates angry glares.

Hermione finally regained her voice and loudly screeched, "Harold James Potter! You take that back right now. I am no whore and you know it. I'm a respectable girl. I earned that money fair and square. I got it for helping you on your homework and making sure you were always where you needed to be when you needed to be there. I earned it by seeing to it that information you needed got to you when you needed it. I earned it by being what a best friend is supposed to be when all you wanted to do was whine and complain about how you didn't like being in a private room or people being mean to you. It's not my fault all you ever want to do is complain about getting into trouble when you don't listen to the teachers as I tell you to. If you'd listened to me, you never would have been placed into that room. But you didn't, did you?"

Harry lost any semblance of friendliness as her screeching rant drew to a close and she admitted she was nothing more than a bought and paid for servant. In silence, he rose to his full height somehow gaining an impressive demeanor though by no means did he have an impressive build. He was short and thin to the point of being scrawny. Yet in this instant he looked as impressive as any Prince of the Realm and twice as regal in his nearly threadbare robes. "First off, Bint, I suggest you actually take the time and trouble to learn my name. It is not, and never has been, Harold. And no I will not tell you what it is. You have no need to know."

He glared at her as she absorbed what he said. "Second off, you aren't nearly as smart as I've always, -mistakenly, it seems-, given you credit for being. You just stood here in front of witnesses and admitted I bought and paid for your friendship from the very beginning. That is not respectable. Nor is it what a best friend is. That's not even what a fair weather friend is. I suggest you invest in a simple muggle Webster's Dictionary so you can look that word up again. Obviously you don't actually know the definition of the word if you honestly think being a best friend means you get paid for it. You're no friend of mine and you never have been."

"You're no whore you say. Yet you basically just told everyone in this room you sold your soul and your honor for gold." He waved at hand towards the occupied tables around them. Hermione didn't even glance at the occupied tables. "And you want everyone in here to believe this doesn't make you a whore of the lowest order? Just how can you even claim that? At least, those girls are openly selling their wares. They don't lie about what they are, pretending to be something else. Nor do they sneak behind their clients back to gain access to the funds they feel are owed them but that the client never offered. They set a flat fee and name it up front. You're a disgrace to the honest working girl who knows what she is and admits it."

"If you wanted my money that badly you should've just asked me straight up. But you aren't honest enough to do something so honorable. Are you? Much more your style to sneak around and lie, cheat and steal what you need to do what you want to do. Just like you did when you decided you needed some expensive potion ingredients, right? Oh, right. You didn't steal those at all did you? They were given to you to help pull the wool over my eyes while you were laughing your way to the bank to grab more of my gold, huh."

"And let's not forget the most important trick in your arsenal. Make sure there is always some poor gullible fool to take the blame when people find out what you've done. Just like you did then." He altered his voice to a fake girly voice and said, "Make a distraction for me Harry. Do something to focus the attention of the class on you so I can slip into the Master's Storeroom without getting caught." He let his voice slip back into his normal tones hiding a wince as he did so. "You disgust me. And for the record, that doesn't make you respectable either. That makes you a sneak thief and a liar." From behind him the Throat Soothing Charm hit him again. He almost sighed in relief.

"Nor did you even actually do the job you just claimed I was paying you to do. Maybe in first year you did but in second year, I got booted out of the tower and into Protective Custody by the suspicions and rumors of the gullible fools here. You weren't coming by my chambers to help me study during that time. Hell, I even asked you multiple times to come get me books for my assignments so I could do them decently. Because the Professors, who were my escorts everywhere, claimed they didn't have the time to chaperone me in the Library. But you never did, did you? What was it you claimed when I'd ask you about them? Oh yes I remember. You said you were using them but I could borrow them when you finished with them, didn't you? Or they weren't available. But who was paying who, Hermione? I could swear the whole reason you're here in my face right now is because you want my money. Not the other way around. Hells bells girl, you were a petrified statue in the infirmary for a good portion of the year. So just how the hell are you claiming to have gotten me the information I needed then?"

"Third year I again had private chambers which I don't recall you ever visiting for the purposes of homework collaboration. Lectures on obeying the teachers and being mindful of the need to remain safe. That I remember. But homework help? Giving me information I was in need of? No, that I don't remember you ever doing that year. Though you were in possession of information I should've been given weren't you, Girl. Information that turned out to be hazardous to not only my health but yours and Ron's as well as Professor Snape's. Moon controlled Creature on the grounds ringing any bells with you?"

"No, everyone in this school can attest to the fact that you spent the entire year working on a legal case to save Buckbeak for Hagrid. Because Draco whined to his Daddy for not listening to Hagrid in class and Daddy was going to appease his little boy by killing the nasty beastie that scratched him." At the Slytherin table, Draco winced and looked slightly ashamed of himself. Hearing it put like that it really wasn't his proudest moment. Nor could he claim Potter had it wrong. That's exactly what happened.

"And when you weren't working on your law case, you were too busy arguing with Ronald over your chosen pets rights to bother with little ole me, weren't you? Not once during that year did it occur to you I was supposed to be your friend. That you just _Admitted_ you were getting paid to be. Those two things took precedence with you over doing the job you were being paid gold out of my vaults for. But tell me, Hermione when did I offer to pay you to get into arguments and fights with Ronald here? When did I offer to pay you to try and free Buckbeak? Never. That's when. So again you were stealing my gold for your own benefit."

"Fourth year, again the entire school turned it's back on me including you. Not one piece of information did you provide me with for either my classes or the Tournament. You were so distanced from me you weren't even my hostage in the second task when they couldn't find anyone else to play the role. So once again you failed to do your job. Just why do you think you deserve to be paid for a job you aren't even doing?"

He let his words sink in before he finished speaking with her. She was trying not to squirm now as she realized they should have listened to Professor Dumbledore. He'd told them not to confront Harry. To let him handle it. But she'd thought they had him so cowed he'd never make a scene like this.

Harry gave her a flat look as he said, "But since you admit I own you and you claim I owe you something for the time you have so graciously spared for me and my endeavors; endeavors you went out of your way to make sure I got involved in even when I did not wish to; let me settle the score now."

He held up a hand and his magic shot from his palm to impact on her left facial cheek. No one heard the softly muttered words he intoned as his magic leapt out from the palm of his hand towards her. To her credit, Hermione did try to dodge initially when she saw his hand rising but relaxed as soon as she didn't see his wand knowing he wasn't close enough to strike her physically. Unfortunately for her, she forgot Harry didn't need his wand to perform some magic. Some magic no witch or wizard needed a wand to perform. On her cheek the faint outline of a rune began to appear. It grew steadily darker as it formed.

As the rune was forming Harry continued to speak. "You claim you earned your fee by performing duties to me that enabled me to be where I needed to be when I needed to be there and by assisting me in the completion of my homework. Unfortunately for you, I don't recall ever once agreeing to pay you for that kind of aide. Nor do I recall ever once asking for your aide with my homework assignments."

"I recall being locked in a room that might as well have been a prison cell here in the Castle every time I didn't have a classroom to be in and it wasn't a scheduled mealtime. Never once do I remember you coming by to study with me. I recall even going so far as to ask you to get books for me so I could do my assignments. Do you recall what you told me Hermione Granger? Because I do. You told me you couldn't get them. That they were all in use or not available. That you didn't have the time to come to the library for me. But that was your job. Wasn't it? To help me with my homework when I needed the help."

"I do recall you badgering me to study with you. I do recall you grabbing my homework parchments away from me in the classroom and then proceeding to mark them up with corrections you believed I needed to make so as to make them more suitable in your opinion. I do recall having to rewrite them as fast as I could so I could turn them in on time. I couldn't turn them in with your scribbles all over them, now could I? Extra work I never asked for and didn't appreciate."

"Nor did I ever follow those inane scribbles as they weren't my work which is what I believe the teachers assign the homework to see. They want to see what we each are learning from their classes. Not what Hermione Granger knows and tells us she thinks we should know. Or thinks she knows. That's what your homework assignments are for."

All the Slytherin students and several of the Ravens adopted a thoughtful look as they glanced to the stacks where they knew the Slytherin Head of House was browsing the racks. He was always in the Library when Slytherin students were allowed to go there. Slytherins were so unpopular in the school they couldn't come to the Library unprotected lest they be accused of something they didn't do or fall prey to one of the school bullies. He smirked at them and gave a slight nod of his head to indicate Harry was correct in his assumption as to the purpose of the homework assignments.

"As for me being where I needed to be when I needed to be there, as you are alive to be standing here today, I would say it is you who owes me for that service. I would also say it proves beyond any doubt I'm quite capable of getting myself where I need to be when I need to be there without your less than helpful assistance. If I want to be there. Because even we population created so-called heroes get to choose who we believe is worthy of saving. I do believe I once chose you, didn't I? I do, after all, recall quite clearly who it was sobbing in the bathroom when a troll decided to come calling looking for dinner and it wasn't me, Girl."

"Nor did I ever wish to be placed in danger so you could prove you solved a mystery. I do recall telling you that the object of the mystery was as safe as it could be with so many professors already protecting it. I also recall it was you who insisted we had to go check on it to make sure since the Headmaster was away from campus at the time."

"But you couldn't admit I was right, could you? Even when we were standing in front of Professor Snape's challenge and I told you he wasn't the bad guy in the Castle after the trinket the Headmaster had stolen from it's rightful owner. I even pointed out that if he had his trap placed there, then he already knew how to get around all the other traps. He had to just so he could set his up. But you didn't want to admit I was right because that meant admitting you were wrong to set his clothes on fire during the quiditch game." The Professor in the stacks now glared at the bushy haired girl. A low rolling growl emanated from the stacks as Professor Snape finally learned who had tried to kill him that year.

"Nor was it me who wanted to brew a difficult potion I claimed to need to steal expensive ingredients for just so I could interrogate an unsuspecting person for my own amusement. That was also you, wasn't it? A potion you couldn't even brew. How do I know you didn't brew it? Simple. You can't tell the difference between her hair," He pointed to Millicent Bulstrode sitting with her fellow Slytherins "and her cat's. Anyone who can brew that potion is certainly smart enough to make that simple little distinction. But again you wanted to play Nancy Drew and solve the mystery, didn't you?"

"Nor have I ever gone around defaming someone else's character behind their back. I didn't want to break rules to offer unsolicited comfort over the loss of an animal. I reminded you there was a murderer after me. I even reminded you about the announcement saying the dementors would now be prowling the grounds outside the Castle after dark. Dementors who absolutely love to catch me off-guard and unprotected. That I wasn't supposed to be outside after dark because it was too dangerous."

"Nor was I keeping potentially dangerous secrets from you that could have done you great harm. Seems to me, all of that was you. As I see it, you owed me your life and you repaid me with betrayal. But we'll let this judgment rune be the judge of who is telling the truth between us now."

The seconds passed. The rune was dark enough for everyone who could see her face to see it now. It steadily grew darker and darker as the magic in it read her guilt from her own mind, heart and soul. Every word he said had brought the specific incident or incidents to the forefront of her mind and the rune was reading her guilt or innocence accordingly. That was all his words had been for. Finally, when it was finished forming, the rune on her cheek was clearly visible for everyone to see. And that told everyone watching Magic had found her guilty as charged.

"There. Consider yourself paid in full. Now step aside so I can deal with your friends here. And while I deal with them, remember this. It was I who saved you when you found yourself stuck in that bathroom with a troll looking for a meal. It was I who battled the basilisk that rendered you into a petrified statue in our second year. Some would say you owe me your very life, Granger. Be grateful I don't claim it from you for the insult you've given me these last four years."

What the rune now adorning her face stood for would only be known to those who could read runes but Harry had just given everyone in the library a very big clue to at least part of what it stood for. Smug smiles were adorning many faces as the listeners realized Hermione Granger, muggleborn upstart, had just received a comeuppance they could never have dreamed of giving her but many had wished to deliver more than once over the years they had known her. No more would they have to bite their tongues or cheeks to keep from putting her in her place simply because she claimed to be the best friend of their Savior. Or she was the staff's favorite.

He had just openly declared in front of them all, she was no such thing and never had been. What was more, he had marked her and claimed ownership after a fashion which, in their society, made her less than human. And although the Slytherin amongst them knew there were at least two adults present, neither one had said a single word in protest to stop him from doing so. And that meant they believed he had the right to do so. The students didn't have to be able to read runes to know what that mark on her face signified.

The truth was, that one rune incorporated every crime Hermione Granger was guilty of according to her own mind, heart and soul. It would remain there, nice and clear, until first, she admitted to herself she deserved the mark. That she was guilty of exactly what he had said she was. And her mind would remember every single accusation he had made against her until she admitted the truth. She wouldn't be able to forget why she was marked.

And second, she began to rectify the situation that had created it. She'd have to ask for forgiveness and make amends for her bad behavior towards him. No more would she play the innocent and benevolently grant her forgiveness to another for her own wrongdoing. Like she had just tried to do here earlier in the conversation. Until she atoned for the wrongs she did, the rune would remain where it was. It would slowly vanish as she worked to make right the situation that had created it but not until then. In other words, she had to atone for her sins.

But given most of them had run afoul of her ego more than a time or two over the years, the gathering rather thought the mark would be there for a good long while to come. Because the first step to the disappearance of that mark was her admittance that she had done wrong to someone she had loudly proclaimed was her friend. And the Hermione Granger they knew, could never do that. She was much too proud to ever admit she was in the wrong.

Then she had to work at getting rid of it. So long as she professed to be innocent of any wrong-doing the rune would remain just as it was now. And Hermione Granger always claimed to be innocent easily pinning the blame on anyone who happened to be standing close enough to get blamed. She always played the perfect student who would never break the rules and the teachers always bought her act.

Although the magic to enact the spell had come from Harry, the mark had been created using her own magic. It had come from within herself and was being sustained by her own magical core. All Harry's magic had done was identify her as the person he was calling for judgement against. Nothing anyone else, including Harry, did now could remove it. And it was her own inherent magic that would keep it nice and fresh until the day she began to atone. All of the witnesses knew that even if they didn't conscious realize it. This magic they'd just witnessed was engrained in their very beings though none could say they knew exactly what Harry had just done to Granger.

Hermione only felt a slight tingle in her face where the rune was and she turned to Ron with a question in her eyes. "What did he do to me, Ron? Why does my face itch now?" She tentatively reached a hand towards her stinging and itching cheek.

Ronald, still silenced by Harry's wandless, wordless charm couldn't say a word to answer her. He was gaping at her wide-eyed and in terror as he looked from Hermione to Harry and back again. He backed away from Harry coming up flush against the librarian who was also studying Harry in just as much surprise as the Potions Professor hidden in the stacks. The Slytherin students were giving Harry appraising looks alternating with looks of smug satisfaction at the stunned and confused trio and wonderment towards their teacher in the stacks.

"Ron," Hermione said in a slightly louder voice. She spun towards Ginerva inadvertently giving the other half of the packed library a chance for a good look at the mark. Now it was the Ravenclaws turn to get a good look at her marked face. The Ravenclaw Tower had a good number of students there just as the Slytherins did. They wouldn't be Ravens if they weren't haunting the library whenever it was open and they had a free period. Like the Slytherins, they too had taken note of the conversation and made notes as to what was said when and by whom. Unlike the Slytherins though most of them knew something of what Harry had done to the proud Gryffindor.

"Ginny! What did he do to me? What is wrong with my face?"

Ginerva spoke in a quivering voice since it was clear Ron couldn't seem to find his. "He marked you. There's some kind of a rune tattooed on your cheek now. It's dark and an angry red. Before you ask, no. I don't know what it is. Nor do I know the spell he used to make it appear there. So no, I can't remove it for you. Remember, I don't take runes. I take Creature Care and Divination. So even if I did know how he did it, I doubt I could remove it or read it for you. Neither would Ron."

Hermione whirled around to face Harry again and angrily demanded, "Remove it. Now! How dare you do this to me! I don't deserve this. All I've ever done is try to help you and you do this to me? What kind of an ungrateful brat are you? Well, you just showed everyone Professor Snape is right about you. You're just a bully with delusions of grandeur trading on his fame because that's all you have. You had no right to go marking me with anything, Harry Potter. If you don't remove it right this instant, I'll make you regret it until your dying day which won't come soon enough for you. I'll ask the Headmaster to throw you out of this school, Harry Potter. Let's see how far your fame will get you then," she finished with an angry sneer.

Harry pulled a thin, off-white booklet from his stack of reading material and threw it onto the tabletop with a smack. Madam Pince immediately recognized the booklet as one the Weasely Twins had read last term and seemed to spend a lot of time studying. Now she knew why. Those twins! They got into the strangest things.

"Well, now, you see that's where you're wrong. I checked it very carefully just to make certain I do indeed have the right to do what I just did to you."

"This is the magical world, Hermione Jean Granger of no family and no bloodline. In the Muggle World, while your actions might get you kicked out of school or sent to a Juvenile Facility for a few years after a day or two in court, here it's a different story. Everyone has been telling you since you first set foot in this world, life is lived by a different code here. We told you that over and over again. Like when you were trying to save Buckbeak from Draco's Dad. Or when you wanted to free all the house-elves who don't want to be free. Or when the girls begin talking about their betrothal contracts. You won't listen. That isn't our fault. It's yours."

"But for today, your ignorance of this world doesn't matter. Today, that stubborn obstinacy has caught up with you."

"And, just for the record, you can't get me thrown out of Hogwarts. You're just a muggleborn with delusions of how you're something special and going to make something of yourself one day. _I_ am not. I am already someone special. This society declared it when I was fifteen months old. Which is totally stupid. But what's more I am the Heir to House Potter. When I turn seventeen I will be somebody in this world."

"And if Professor Snape can't seem to get me thrown out of Hogwarts, which we all knows he's trying to do, what in Merlin's name do you honestly believe you can do to achieve it? Do you honestly believe you have more influence here with the Headmaster than he does?"

"You call me a bully. What in the Sam Hill do you think you're engaging in right now? Threatening me with expulsion just because you don't like how this conversation played out for you. But then you came in here expecting to bully me didn't you? Bully me into giving you a key to my trust vault so you could keep stealing from me. And now you're trying to bully me into undoing what I just went to so much trouble to do."

He shook his head. "Try as you might I assure you, nothing you can do will make me regret the mark you now bear for your sins against me. Because you don't learn from just words. I gave you chance after chance to change the way you were treating me. Time after time, I hinted that I knew what you were doing and didn't like or appreciate it. You wouldn't stop. You wouldn't change your behavior. Now you will or you'll bear that mark for the rest of your days. Your choice."

"As for how far my fame can get me outside of Hogwarts, why would I care? I've been trying to downplay that stupidity from the first moment I heard of it. My position as heir to the House of Potter is much more useful to me. But then you wouldn't understand that as you don't believe in the nobility. Do you? Even though nobility exists even in your beloved muggle world. Because you aren't noble, right. You have no claim to a noble house in either world. Do you?"

"As for your new adornment, the truth is, you stood right here and admitted, of your own free will, in front of everyone, you're a bought and paid for person. You take my gold without my permission to force me to do things against my best judgement at the behest of another. Things that endanger my well-being for the express purpose of gaining this other person acclaim he hasn't earned. That makes you at best a servant to one and a thief to me. Not to mention an accomplice to murder should any of those traps you forced me into have been successful. At worst, you're a slave and a betrayer."

"Because you were betraying me, Granger. Don't bother trying to excuse it. I was the person who's gold you were taking. You admitted it when you came in here with these two demanding that I give you back _your_ key."

"By going behind my back and leading me into dangerous situations you knew in advance would _be_ dangerous situations wherein I could very easily have died or been permanently handicapped, making it highly unlikely I'd be able to lead the life I was born to lead or have the career I'd choose for myself after graduation, you made yourself a betrayer of the worst kind. As far as you knew, those situations you were leading me into would result in either my death or permanent disfigurement and a handicapped state. And since you admitted I didn't authorize you to receive so much as a single knut from my vault, that means you also didn't care if I was left without a way to pay my living expenses after your boss finished playing games with my life and health."

"You not only named yourself a thief, you labeled yourself as heartless. You even admitted as much when you said one of your responsibilities was 'to make sure I was where I was supposed to be when I was supposed to be there even when all I wanted to do was sit around and whine and complain.' So it'll do you no good to try and deny it now. I have all these lovely witnesses who heard you admit how you believe you earned access to my school vault." He waved a hands towards the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables where everyone was openly staring with very predatory smiles. Even the Ravens were grinning in a predatory manner. Every one of them happy to play their assigned role in this drama as none of them liked the uppity girl.

He narrowed his eyes. "Face it, Granger. You were trying to kill your benefactor and the person you owe your life twice over to. By wizarding law, as your freely admitted benefactor, I can, since all the events that matter took place here, do with you what I wish. And wizarding law is the only law that matters here. You're a witch and in this case, a member of this world whether you like it or not. If I wished to have you stripped naked, tied to a flagpole in the courtyard to be flogged with a cat-o-nine and washed with a bottle of vinegar every day at noon and again at midnight, by wizarding law, I could. Because I own you, you pathetically stupid little girl. I've even given you warnings to cease and desist with your immoral behavior towards me. You don't listen because you just can't believe I, or any mere boy, can know things you don't. Or things you've gone to great lengths to conceal."

She stood there whipping her head back and forth in wide-eyed, tearful denial while the other students all smirked. She now truly regretted coming to confront him when there were witnesses to tell the tale. And there was absolutely nothing she could see that she could do to turn things around for herself. She had admitted she was using him to her own advantage by being paid from his vault. Oh, how she wished she'd listened to Professor Dumbledore! It was going to take forever to recover from this fiasco.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I've certainly spent long enough working on it. There are two more Library Confrontation Chapters coming. I originally was going to do it all in one chapter but it didn't read explosive enough so I broke it up and extended each persons section. It ended up being one chapter for each person involved. Hope you enjoy it and please do review. I'm tired for tonight so this is the last chapter I'm uploading until tomorrow.**


	14. Library Confrontation - Ginerva

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Let me say here and now, I like canon Hermione and Ron. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why. However this is not canon and you won't find those characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rowlings did. (oops Thank you my reviewer who pointed out my error here. Just a simple mis-struck key but it's corrected now. I do that a lot when I'm tired.) As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Fourteen: Library Confrontation - Ginerva

Severus Snape had been in the stacks when the trio had burst into the Library to confront Potter. He was always in the stacks when his house had a library time scheduled and he made certain that schedule corresponded as much as he could with when Potter would be roaming the halls or sitting here as well. That was the trouble with being Potter's Guardian/Protector here in the school. It was his sworn duty to protect the brat and he couldn't do that if he had no idea what the brat was up to now. Sometimes he really wished he'd refused the Ministry when the issue had come up and the Minister had wanted to appoint someone to the role simply because the boy was a famous orphan under a great deal of personal threat. But he hadn't. Though he still didn't know why the Ministry had chosen him. Of all the teachers in the school, why him?

But it was also why, when the brat had been moved out of Gryffindor Tower back in his second year and given that private room, he was the main person the other Professors had expected to escort the boy to the places he needed to go. Like to take a daily shower. They said it was his duty. Not theirs. He'd hated it. The whole situation had annoyed him. Yes, the brat had hurt Draco by throwing the firework in Draco's cauldron. Yes, that could've really injured Draco had Draco been a step further in his work. But could haves weren't did. And what Potter had done was no worse than what so many other students had done over the years. Including Draco. Yet none of them had been put into isolation. None of them had been set up for the benefit of games being played behind their back or over their heads. And Potter had apologized to Draco. Twice. Immediately once he realized just how badly he could have hurt the boy. Sincere apologies both times. Draco had refused to accept them and no one said a word.

Nor did the punishment of Potter end as it should have once he'd realized what he'd done wrong. Punishment didn't work if it was carried on for too long a time. Or was administered too heavily for all manner of offenses. And no matter what Potter did or supposedly did, his punishment here was always the same. Isolation. And criminal treatment by the staff and his peers.

So he spent a lot of time shadowing Potter around the school between classes. Because, regardless of what the Headmaster claimed, the brat wasn't safe in the school. And he saw and heard a lot of things the rest of the school did not. It's why he'd schedule his fifth year Slytherins to be in the Library at the same time Potter would most likely be here as well. Because he was expecting the school darlings to try something on Potter. Because they always did at this time of the year. Because when there were games being played, those three were always involved. And if he was going to be able to save his charge this time, he had to know what the game was. And exactly what Potter's role in the yearly game was supposed to be.

He'd naturally heard the entire proceeding today. When he'd figured out exactly what their grievance was with the boy, it infuriated him. Harry Potter was being lied to, cheated and stolen from by these three children! He'd known the trio were using the boy. Hell, he'd have needed to be deaf, blind and stupid not to know that after four years of shadowing the boy everywhere. But he hadn't known they were actively stealing from him. They'd actually dared to come here to confront him about their thievery and demand he allow them to continue stealing from him! They were either completely immoral or just plain stupid. Maybe both.

He narrowed his eyes and the vein in his jaw started ticking a clear sign he was gritting his teeth as he automatically began thinking of ways in which he could pay them back for their treachery. He was good at getting payback against misbehaving students and these three wouldn't be the first time he failed at it. They would pay. He expected to have to extract some revenge for the boy since it was virtually impossible for Harry to get it on his own. Dumbledore and his stooges made it nearly impossible for the boy to be anything but a doormat. Any attempt on his part to stand up for himself only got him knocked on his arse again in the most humiliating way possible. And that was if it wasn't life endangering.

But it quickly became clear, revenge wouldn't be necessary. Not for Potter anyway. Potter was living up to his name in dealing with these three. He was getting his own revenge on them. In true Potter style, no less. If he dealt with the other two as he'd dealt with Granger the trio would be a long time recovering from this encounter. This Potter's revenge was meant to last. He smirked happily.

Of course, he'd never expected to witness exactly how Potter went about getting his revenge. And under no circumstances had he expected events to play out as they had. Potter was supposed to be dim-witted and stupid. Brave. That went without question. And loyal past the point of it being a virtue. He wasn't supposed to actually have the ability to stand up for himself. Not like this.

But as the boy stood to answer their claims Severus felt an unaccustomed pride. He wasn't sure how the boy did it but somehow he looked every inch the noble heir to an old title that he was. In that moment someone could have told him Potter was the heir to King Arthur and Severus would've had no trouble believing them. Potter laid into the trio with Slytherin skill making a complete mockery of their claims and completely denouncing them as he did so. He didn't just cast aspirations on their characters. He demolished them. And when his little snakes got done spreading the word around the castle, none of them would be holding their heads up proudly as they strutted like peacocks on the walk through the halls anymore. Those three may have believed they owned Potter but Potter was showing them otherwise in a way that couldn't be denied.

When he had paused, Severus hit him with the Soothing Throat charm, somehow knowing the boy needed it even if he hadn't given any indication of such, hoping the boy wasn't planning to back down now that he had the three in a less than righteous position. Potter had them on the ropes now and if he didn't finish them off, they'd only return with backup to make him regret it. For the first time in a long time, he wasn't disappointed.

What took place that day was monumental. Harry hadn't only ruined the trio in Hogwarts. Because Severus did see the avid interest of his Slytherins and knew they would make absolutely certain the entire school and beyond heard of this confrontation. But he had marked Ms. Granger permanently in a manner worse than the one the Dark Lord had used on his followers. He at least could conceal the mark that disfigured his person. She could not. It was on her face where no clothing would ever hide it without drawing attention to the fact she was hiding something. Everyone who saw her, would immediately see her mark. Even if she took to wearing a scarf over her lower face. He couldn't help feeling gleeful. For too long he'd put up with people who knew of his own mark looking down on him for his mistake in judgment. Now that negativity would be cast on her as well. Misery does love company and he now had someone to share in his own misery. Not that he'd be actually talking to the chit. Or sharing his own experiences of being shunned and looked down on with her. He wouldn't. When he'd taken his mark of shame, he'd only done so because he thought he would be gaining a place to belong. A home and a family he could be a part of and do something good for the world in the process. She got hers through greed, jealousy, malice and spite.

Though only a small portion of the population would actually know exactly what her mark meant, no one would miss seeing it. Even those who could read runes wouldn't necessarily understand her marking as it wasn't a straight rune. The rune she now bore was a patron compilation punishment rune standing for every wrong she'd committed against her admitted and acknowledged patron. Unless his children and their parents made sure information about this confrontation was spread throughout the magical community. He'd have to make certain it was. The public deserved to know just what that mark meant and why she had it. It was his duty as a citizen of this world to do what he could to make sure they knew.

Because if she'd use him, the boy who had actually saved her life. Twice. For her own gain. Then she'd use anyone. He was certain none of the students in the Library today actually knew or understood exactly what the rune was but he'd tell his students tonight in their common room what he knew of it. Of course he'd have to get a hold of that book Potter had thrown down on the table first. But that shouldn't be a problem. Irma was sure to get him a copy of it. For now, those studying in the Library today, one thing was clear. To them, the meaning of the mark was crystal clear just going by what they'd heard Potter telling her. She was scum according to her own values and morals.

Ginerva gave Harry an appraising look of her own now. In a superior tone of voice, hoping to cow him into not attempting such actions against herself, she addressed him. "I hope you don't have such plans my brother and myself, Harry. As much as we count her as a friend, we aren't like Hermione here. You may be able to do things like that to her, though I doubt it, because you do outrank her. But you don't outrank us. We're purebloods, remember. Different rules and laws apply to us. We have rank and privilege you don't share."

"We've been your friends. Sharing what we have with you. Spending time with you no matter your mood. When no one in this school wanted anything to do with you, we were at your side. We've helped you with the things you wanted to do when you were ready to do them. Remember?"

She drew herself up straighter as if trying to intimidate him with her non-existent social standing. "And you do owe us, Harry. Our family took you in. We gave you a place to stay. We fed you and provided a bed for you when you didn't want to be at your relatives house. Invited you to go places with us in public. Letting society see we thought kindly of you and offered you the protection of our name and station. Mum took the time to buy you clothes and your books and supplies for school. Ron shared his room with you and helped you learn how to fly a broom so you'd be better on the quiditch field. He taught you the rules of the game and how to do the moves Seekers are supposed to do so you could have a chance of catching the snitch during our school games. We gave you food off our table and made sure you were entertained at our house. Our family taught you about this world. We took care of you, Harry. You owe us for that."

Harry sneered at her his disgust with her practically dripping from his expression. "No, actually I don't, Ginerva, but let me tell you what you owe me. Try your life, little girl. If your brother hadn't tried to kill me by shoving me in the back into a dark passage, you'd be dead right now. Worse than dead really. Because you spent your entire first year keeping secrets while you played with fire."

"But he did. Straight into the Chamber of Secrets, a place I had no familiarity with and no desire to be. Because I knew whatever was down there was deadly dangerous and had already killed someone in this school."

"Instead, you're standing here demanding access to money you were never entitled to. You're nothing more than a greedy, little girl with delusions of grandeur and pie in the sky dreams of how you will marry me and somehow become the toast of High Society. A position I've noticed you do nothing to prepare yourself to hold."

"You don't work to improve yourself at all. Nor do you study politics or the peculiarities of the different charities my wife would be expected to be involved in. You don't try to learn the manners a high society lady of my station would need to know and display though there are several girls in this school that have those mannerisms on clear display every day. Hell, you don't even attempt to bring me information I can then use to help me build alliances for my future station and everyone knows that is what high society wives do when they socialize. In short, you do nothing to make yourself worthy of this position you seem to want."

"You seem to think that being a pureblood makes you more important than I am while covering anything and everything you do against me. It doesn't. In either situation. You're not more important than I'm because I'm the next Lord Potter. You're merely the daughter of an untitled pureblood of limited means with six older brothers. Yes, it would be quite the social coup if I were to marry you but you are in no way entitled to be my wife just because you're a pureblood as you claim. Or because Twinkly Wrinkly favors your family."

Twinkly Wrinkly? Severus thought in surprise. Where the hell does he come up with these names?

"Nor does the status of your blood give you the right to defame my character and reputation while claiming a position of importance to me I have never given you leave to claim. A position I have in fact told you repeatedly I will _never_ choose you for. Because if and when I do marry it will not be to some useless bit of fluff with nothing but daydreams between her ears. I will marry a girl intelligent enough to see and recognize the wolf pretending to be a lamb at her door that endangers our home and family. That girl is not you and I've known that from your first year here."

Every girl in the room scribbled on the top of their parchment 'STUDY HARD' making the boys sitting next to them snicker quietly as those girls made it clear that if Potter was still free, they wouldn't mind getting his attention. If nothing else would draw them, his future rank was enough of a draw to ensure they at least tried to gain his attention.

He sneered at her. "You're every bit as spoilt as our beloved Potions Master accuses me of being. Sometimes, I think he needs to open his eyes and take a good hard look at the student roster if he thinks I'm spoilt. Clearly, he's somewhat confused as to what that word actually means. Maybe I should buy him a dictionary for Christmas?" Snickers and grins filled the Slytherin and Ravenclaw study tables as all of them knew the man was in the stacks behind Potter though clearly Potter was unaware of his presence there. They could clearly see him rolling his eyes as Potter considered buying him a dictionary for the holidays. He sent a mock glare at the boy's back to the amusement of his students. He was thoroughly enjoying this showdown and didn't mind letting his students know it.

"But that hothead did shove me in the back. Hard enough he left a visible bruise on my spinal column as proof of just exactly how I came to be in that miserable, dank dungeon. And if you think he did it for you, you really don't know your idiot brother, do you? He did it because he saw it as another shot at fame and glory." By the glare she shot her brother everyone knew that was nothing more than the truth. "And by the way, he did not teach me any quiditch moves any more than he taught me how to fly a broom. Everyone in this room can attest to that without me having to say a word more about it. Draco has been trying to show me up on a broom since our first Flying lesson. He's still trying to." Draco growled and narrowed his eyes but the glares of his peers kept his mouth closed.

"Ron sent me in after you with nothing but my wand and a second years spells to defeat the trouble you had run into. And no I didn't know any conjuration at that point in time which would've greatly helped me against the monster you were playing with. Trouble, he had no idea whether or not would kill me long before I could rescue you from your stupidity. A monster that fully intended to eat your remains when that diary you were using was done draining your lifeforce."

"Trouble that you brought down upon yourself, didn't you, Ginerva? No one twisted your arm and made you write in that cursed diary you certainly knew didn't belong to you. Hell, it even had the name of it's true owner embossed on the inside cover. In silver and green. Green writing on a silver page. How much more obvious could it be that you, a Gryffindor girl, shouldn't be writing in that particular book? What did it need to say in bald, bold face, block letters 'I'm a soul infused Slytherin Book. Not safe for Gryffindor children'? Are you really that dense?"

"But ownership of something doesn't really bother you all that much if it's something you want bad enough, does it? Merlin knows, you've helped yourself to enough of your dorm mates belongings over the years to make that perfectly clear. Not to mention my own things those two weeks I did stay under the Weasely roof. And clearly you haven't noticed those two weeks have never been repeated. Nor will they ever be repeated. Why? Because I don't like being stolen from. I don't like being in a place where my belongings aren't safe from sticky fingered fangirls. I don't like being places I can leave nothing I wish to keep laying around lest it disappear forever."

"But your thieving habits shouldn't surprise anyone considering the lives of others aren't worth very much to you either, are they? You have, after all, already killed a student your age. So I shouldn't be surprised you don't see anything wrong with going through my trunk to steal my short pants, should I? Short pants, you then use as proof of a connection that does not and never did exist. nor will it ever as I do not desire to sample tainted goods." She paled and baulked at the statement she had killed someone, shaking her head in denial. She didn't like the accusation she'd stolen his underwear either but that one she knew she could play off and deny. just as she could the bit about being tainted. Being accused by him of murdering someone however was a lot more damaging.

"A boy died because of you, Ginerva, and in the last three years, I've yet to hear one word of regret or remorse cross your lips. What exactly was his crime, Ginerva? What exactly did he do to you to deserve death?"

"Colin Creevey was following you. Trying to figure out what was wrong with you so he could help you. Because he believed Professor McGonagain when she said our tower mates are our family. He didn't know she was lying to him and Gryffindors only stand by those who prove their strength and pack mentality. He liked you and he thought you were worth helping. You were a fellow Gryffindor. A girl in his year. A part of his new school family. He was trying to be a good housemate and brother. Something he had a lot of experience being considering he has four younger siblings two of which are girls giving him experience your own brothers don't have. He was trying to be loyal and show you support. But how did you repay him for his efforts? You turned the basilisk loose on him and he's dead now. His parents will never understand what happened to him. Or why. He'll never turn twelve." Severus shook his head at the name Potter had given one of the most respected individuals in the Castle. McGonagain. He'd have to remember that one.

"His oldest younger brother is here in the Castle now. Has been for three years now. What have you done to help Denis understand what happened to his brother? To come to terms with the huge hole in his family where Colin once stood? With losing Colin? Oh yes, that's right. You pointed him in my direction. Told him I was the reason Colin died. Because I didn't stop the monster fast enough to save Colin. Let him take out his rage and grief on me while you played the victim. He felt I deserved his attacks because he was defending both you and his brother. Because of the lies you told him."

She squirmed and darted glances from the corner of her eyes to the other occupied tables in the room. She wanted to shut him up but she didn't know how. He was telling everyone her secrets and though she'd done the same to him over the years, she found she really didn't like it now that it was her secrets being shared about. This wasn't supposed to happen to her. Him, yes. The Headmaster said it would help him build character. Be able to face his life as the Chosen One. The Sacrifice for the People. Denis taking out his rage and grief on him was just another sacrifice Harry was making for her. He was sacrificing his personal health while he helped Denis deal with his loss. and it wasn't like Denis would or could kill or permanently injured him. He was the Chosen One. A freak that couldn't be hurt like normal people could. Not even that basilisk had really hurt him. So how could Denis?

She came out of her thoughts to hear him say, "But you did, didn't you? What did Colin do that made him unworthy of his life while you keep living? He could've been someone, Ms. Weasely. He had a talent that would've seen him become a productive citizen one day. Maybe even famous in his own right. There's no way of saying what Colin and his camera would have gone on to do if he'd lived."

Ginny squirmed but had nothing to say. She knew she was responsible for Colin Creevey's death though she'd spent the last three years denying it. There was no way she'd ever admit it out loud though. Never. Her involvement in the opening of the Chamber had been hushed up to protect her from the consequences of her immaturity. Admitting Colin's death was her fault would undermine the Headmaster's efforts to hush the whole situation up. Not to mention, do her reputation no good. She owed it to herself and her family to keep her mouth shut about the incident.

"But you? So far as I can tell, all you'll amount to is somebody's trophy wife. Or, given your sticky fingers, more than likely their little secret something on the side until they tire of you and move on to a fresher face and new bedchamber tricks. It does seem to be all you're interested in learning about if all the whispers I hear about you in the broom closets around here are true. And considering you stood here bold as brass and declared yourself a bought and paid for whore, it shouldn't surprise you that's all you'll ever amount to."

"I suppose that's actually a good thing for everyone involved. You won't really have all that much of a problem when your parents tell you who you're to marry and spread your legs for, will you? Provided they can actually find a man willing to marry you, that is. Honorable men don't tend to like marrying used goods." Her eyes flashed angrily as she heard him tear into her. But he wasn't finished yet.

"I haven't heard a word of remorse or regret from you for Colin's death or endangering my life trying to rescue you from your own stupidity. Nor you urging your brother to issue an apology to me for his blatant attempt at manslaughter. I've not heard a word of thanks from you for either your rescue or my near death down there effecting said rescue. Both of which I was owed from you. Wasn't I Ginerva? But you can't admit that, can you? Admitting you owe me an apology and your thanks means admitting you did something wrong. Admitting a boy died because of your bad act. Admitting you put the entire school in danger because you wanted a diary to write in and spill your daydreams within."

"Robindore keeps trying to tell me about life debts, trying to claim I owe my life to him. He's wrong. I don't owe him my life. But his efforts made me research the subject and guess what I discovered, you foolish little strumpet? I discovered that while I don't owe anyone, except possibly our Potions Master, there are people who owe me. Our snarky Potions Master has actually saved my life more than once over the last few years while placing himself at great risk to do so. He might even have saved me from that snake you were playing with had your brother let me get him to help us as I wanted to. Just as I did for you." In the stacks, Severus Snape blinked in surprised shock. Potter had wanted to get him for that adventure? Since when? He thought the boy hated him. In fact, he knew the boy hated him. So why would he have wanted to get him?

Harry fixed Ginny with a fierce glare of his own. His glares were much more effective than hers ever would be. Then he switched his gaze to Hermione and concluded, "And her." Turning back to Ginny he said, "In that regard she's no different than you. Both of you owe me your life. Because in the case of a life debt, 'The threat to a life must be equal. The one doing the saving needs to be as imperiled as the one being saved.' My action in saving you only confirmed the debt she owed me from her own first year deadly encounter. But it established a new debt between yourself and me. Because if I hadn't saved you, the school would have closed and chances are good she'd have remained a stone statue while you would have died to the diary you were writing in all year."

"As for my debt to Professor Snape, punching out a Werewolf on a full moon night isn't exactly safe, you know. Nor is inserting yourself between said werewolf and his chosen victim. Especially when said werewolf didn't take the Nice Doggie potion to render it harmless." Snickers again erupted quietly at the spectators tables. Even Madam Pince was wearing a small smile. Snape smirked thinking he'd have to remember that name for his potion. He had to hand it to the kid. Potter had a way with words.

"Yet he did it because it was the only way to get it away from me long enough to insert himself between us. Which only meant Lupin would go through him first to get to me. And since both your brother and Hermione were ineffectively trying to hide themselves behind me, there's a damn good chance Lupin would've gotten both of them as well. So by saving me, he saved them also. But just as you've never said thank you to me for saving your life, they've never thanked him either. I have. But they haven't." The listeners again looked to the stacks wondering if that was true and the Potions Master inclined his head just enough to confirm it. Potter had thanked him for saving him that night while the other two hadn't said a word.

The dictation quills were going a mile a minute as the listeners watched and listened to the Confrontation taking place. Each student now had a second parchment and quill that they were using to write down their own thoughts and questions about what was being said. They were also taking note of the expressions on the antagonists faces or in their body language. These quills were also under a silencing spell lest their scratching make them miss something.

Harry was still speaking to Ginny but his voice was getting rough again and the Potions Master could see his shoulders tensing up. So he hit him with another soothing charm and hoped the boy would get through the scene without his voice giving out. Idly, he wondered why the teen was having such a hard time speaking right now. Teenagers normally didn't have a hard time talking. Generally they talked too much and didn't listen often enough. But it was clear to him, Potter was having a hard time with all this talking.

"He knew full well when he placed himself between me and that werewolf, he was gambling with his life. But it was also the only chance he had of keeping it away from me in the hopes that I could survive. That's the kind of actions necessary to invoke a life debt. The kind of action I took to save the two of you. Because you and your friends, as well as your boss, keep putting me into places I Do Not wish to be where my life is at grave risk of ending, he has to keep coming to my rescue."

Ginny had heard enough. He was shredding her reputation and telling the whole room things that were never supposed to see the light of day in the process. Hotly she declared, "You lying little freak. I do not owe you anything. Not an apology Not my life. Nothing. I have heard enough lies from you today. It was Fawkes who saved me. Not you. That makes your claim nothing but a lie. You're standing here making a mountain out of a gnomehole claiming I'm responsible for things I'm not. I didn't kill anyone. I was eleven and yes, I made a mistake using that book as my diary. But I didn't kill anyone. Or endanger the school. And you just admitted you only came to save me because Ron made you. So your intent in being there didn't have anything to do with me and my danger at the time. So I owe you nothing. I am a pureblood and I will be damned if I owe my life to a halfblood like you. But you owe me because it's your duty to put yourself in danger whenever someone else is in peril. The Headmaster says it is," she screamed.

Severus stepped out of the stacks as his Slytherins growled and stood up ready to take a stand on the matter. Even the Librarian seemed unwilling to let her get away with that declaration. But Harry cut them all off at the pass. Fawkes himself soared into the Library trilling his cheerful song. With a burst of melody he alighted on Harry's shoulder and began to butt heads with the green eyed boy.

Reaching up to stroke the fiery bird, Harry calmly replied. "I guess you'll be damned then because that's where you're wrong, Ms. Weasely." Snickers drifted quietly from the occupied nearby tables and both the adults gave little smiles as Severus sunk back into the shadows and Ginny flushed in embarrassment. her anger was still strong but he'd neatly taken the wind out of her sails and she knew it.

"You see, what you fail to understand is, Fawkes wouldn't have been in the Chamber to save either one of us had I not called for him to come aid me. Because you certainly didn't call for him. Did you? As I recall you were near dead on the dirty floor when I found you. Laying in the muck and grime of the last century as if it was a bed covered in the finest silk and satin bedding available. Totally insentient. Unable to ask anyone or anything for aid to save your life. Nor did your brother call on the school for aide when he found himself blocked by a rockslide and trapped under the school with a brain addled fool of a wanna-be teacher. He could've but then he's never been the most intelligent or quick thinking of people, has he?"

"I did though. I called out mentally for help when the shade that was stored in that damn book began calling for the basilisk to come out to play and Fawkes here answered that call. I asked him to aid you once the basilisk was no longer a threat and the diary had been dealt with. Isn't that right, Fawkes?" Fawkes trilled again and gave a bobbing nod of his head.

"I was dying. But I still asked Fawkes to help you." He rolled up his sleeve as he was speaking and now turned his arm so she could see the puckered scar from the basilisk fang that marked it. Her eyes were drawn unintentionally to the scar. All the kids in the room craned their necks trying to see what he was showing her also. They too wanted proof of his version of events. On seeing the scar still so prominent on the pale flesh of Harry's inner arm, Fawkes hopped down to the tabletop before giving a mournful trill and gently touching it with his beak as if apologizing for not being able to fully heal the wound.

"The toy you were playing with all year did this to me while I was trying to save you. The toy that ended Colin's life. That would've ended mine if not for Fawkes." Fawkes trilled and head butted Harry again. "What was my reward for that? You went around the school with these two," he gestured to Ron and Hermione. "Telling everyone I was grandstanding again. That I wasn't really lying in the infirmary recovering from another near death experience. That the snake was just a little harmless gardener snake that couldn't have hurt anybody."

"But gardener snakes don't leave scars like this behind, do they? Gardener snakes don't pose a threat to human lives. Insects yes. Humans no. You went around the school with your head held high blaming me for your own bad act in opening the Chamber and killing Hagrids roosters. You went around tearing my character and reputation to shreds to cover up your own guilt lest someone remember it was a redheaded girl Colin's notebook had fingered for the crime."

"The bottomline here, Ginerva Molly Weasely is that while Fawkes here did heal you enough for you to reach the infirmary, he only did so because he was aiding me and I was in no condition to get you out of the chamber without his aid. He knew that even if you were too stupid. Because you didn't call for his aide. I did."

"Furthermore, without me stabbing that damn diary with the poisoned fang from the monster you'd been playing with all year long, you would've died. Fawkes didn't stop the diary Tom from draining your life force. I did. And no I didn't have to do that to kill the snake. The snake was already dead by the time I did that. But you live because of that one simple little act I performed as I was dying. And yes, Ms. Weasely. I was dying because the fang I used to stab that diary I had to first pull out of my own forearm." He tapped the puckered scar for emphasis. "Where it had lodged as I slammed Gryffindor's sword into the basilisk's brain via it's mouth as it tried to have me as a Potter snack. Therefore, your life is most definitely mine to do with as I please. As is the case for all life debts."

"As for your mother providing for me and your family taking me in, that has only been the case once in fourteen years and even then it was only a grand total of two weeks time in the summer between my first and second year. I've never been back and have never asked to go there again. Hell, I didn't even ask that time. I was invited there by your brother. If your parents couldn't afford it they should've said so. As any other adult would have. Or told him no when he asked for me to come stay."

"Considering your Mother has been very freely helping herself to funds from my school vault longer than I've even known her, I consider your family well paid for that time. I may not know for certain, at this time, as to whether or not she is aware she's actually stealing from me just as the three of you are, or have been, but I do know she has been spending my money for longer than I've known she existed. But even if she wasn't, I fail to see how staying under the Weasely roof for fourteen days out of fifteen years equals having to pay your way for the rest of your life. If that's the price of staying at your home, let me tell you the service sucks and it definitely wasn't worth the price." Sniggers again provided an undercurrent of sound in the room as the students caught the humor. Even Severus snorted in amusement though the sound was drown out by the sniggering students.

"Nor has your mother ever bought me clothing except for that dress robe she chose for me in my fourth year that was paid for with my own funds. A robe that was chosen more because it complemented the robe you wanted to wear than because I might like it or look good in it. I wear the clothes given to me by my Aunt and Uncle or robes I picked up from Madam Malkin's myself the summer I turned eleven. Even Malfoy can attest to that since he was in the robe shop when I came in to be fitted that year. We even had a conversation of sorts while we were getting measured for our robes. I'm sure, if he was paying attention at the time and looks closely now, he can attest to that fact as he is very fashion conscious. Guy spends more time primping in front of the mirror than my Aunt does when Uncle plans to take her out for the evening." Draco flushed again as the girls of his house smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. How Potter knew of Draco's habit of primping they didn't know but all of them knew it was true.

"Can you say the same? Can you honestly stand there and tell me you are wearing the same clothes today that you have been wearing for the last four years? I doubt it as vain as you are. But I see no good reason to buy new clothing when what I have is still serviceable and the new will be exactly like the old. That is a waste of good coin that could be used otherwise."

At those words everyone in the room was looking over the robes Harry was wearing, seeing the wear and tear that could only be the result of having served as his standard wardrobe long past their intended shelf life. Yet, it was also clear to anyone who knew what to look for the robe was well cared for. And everyone knew he hadn't donned said clothing just for this conversation. Those really were his standard daily uniform robes. While the witnesses were reassessing Harry's wardrobe, Harry was calling upon his magic to render payment to Ginerva Weasely just as he had Hermione.

Very quietly Harry mumbled, "Mother Gaia, hear my plea. I call for Judgement upon this user of your gift." Once again he raised his hand. Everyone felt the pressure rise in the room as magic itself responded to his call. Fawkes was singing adding his own voice to the call as the room filled with intangible energy, dancing along the skin and setting nerve endings tingling. He too wanted judgement on this girl who had so badmouthed the one he'd aided in his quest to save her life. Only Snape, Madam Pince and surprisingly enough Crabbe managed to catch the words he mumbled. Snape because he was almost directly behind him in the stacks. Madam Pince because she knew what magic he was using to punish his tormentors and Crabbe simply because he was use to translating Goyle's mutterings. Goyle never did talk very clearly. Or loud. He'd never really learned how.

As Harry's magic swelled forth in a visible wave to wrap around her, she squawked, turning to try and flee before he could harm her as he had Hermione. Unlike Hermione, Ginerva kept trying to flee but as she was trying to run from him in a straight line she had no more luck evading the curse than Hermione had. No matter what she didn't want one of those ugly marks on her pretty face. Her face and figure were her future and she knew it. Hermione might think she'd graduate from here and go on to have a career but Ginny knew better. Society only had one use for girls when they completed their schooling and that was the marriage bed and birthing the next generation. That mark or one like it would make it very hard for her to find a suitable husband and she knew it.

Nor did she believe Potter had any right to disfigure her no matter what he believed. She was a pureblood daughter of a respectable house. He was only a halfblood with a deceased line of ancestors. Yes, he would inherit a title and a boatload of money but with no people and being a halfblood, he was less than her. He was just the chosen sacrifice for people like herself. It was her birthright to use him as she saw fit for her own betterment. The Headmaster said so.

Before she had managed to take two steps his magic had wrapped around her calling forth her own magic to answer his charge. Her magic swelled out from her core to meet his and her flight was halted mid-step. Her own innate magic pulled her back and turned her around to face her master.

Hermione had finally snapped out of her shock over her own denouncement. The threat he posed to Ginny had brought her out of her own skull enough to be aware of her surroundings again. She was screaming at Harry to stop it. Threatening to tell the Headmaster and her favorite Professor on him. Trying to dock points right and left in her capacity as a prefect. None of it did any good. Professor Snape simply gave back the points she tried to take. Points which Fawkes had taken care of. Fawkes let the points the Professor gave stand as the Professor felt Harry deserved them for his handling of his most ardent tormentors but refused to honor the points Hermione was trying to dock. People forgot, if they ever really knew, that Fawkes was a representative of the school just as any of the staff were. He too could give or take points from the student population. He rarely did so because to him, most the students were the same and in the larger scheme of things points won or lost during school days didn't really mean anything.

Nor could Hermione actually move from the spot she was standing so she couldn't actually help Ginny at all. She couldn't step in front of Ginny or aide her in escaping the room though it was clear she wanted to. Harry hadn't released her yet. Nor had he given her his terms for the future. She couldn't do anything except yell for Professor McGonagal and berate Harry.

Once again, Harry had called upon the old magic to come forth and judge this girl marking her with an appropriate rune for her crimes against him. All the students had seen Ginny's magic swelling forth to meet Harry's and now they were all watching in awe as the smooth skin of Ginerva Weasely's face was marked with a rune just slightly different and lighter than Hermione's rune. This was something they knew they'd be unlikely to ever see again and none of them wanted to miss a second of it.

Granted, her marking was more expansive than Hermione's as it spread across her face to encompass her entire cheek but it wasn't as deeply embedded and was of a lighter hue when it finished forming. Somehow, everyone witnessing it, believed that was only because she was a year younger than her brother and the other girl. She hadn't been a part of their actions during the first Hogwarts year. Nor had she taken an active role in leading him into harms way during any year except for her own first year. Well, except for directing that boy, Denis, in Harry's direction.

"And last but definitely not least, let me tell you that you have yet to do anything I feel the slightest need to pay you for. Hell, you haven't even done anything to cover the cost of your tuition that I've been paying since you reached the age of eleven yourself. You barely even manage to pass your classes. And you've taken one of the two most useless electives the school offers. The only thing that would've been worse is if you'd signed up for Muggle Studies instead of Creature Care. At least Creature Care is required for some career fields and can be useful in others even when it's not required. Nor do you have a interfering busybody of a Headmaster forcing you to waste your education taking pointless and useless classes."

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I've certainly spent long enough working on it. I'm getting the chapters loaded as fast as I can so you can enjoy more reading time without waiting. This chapter is really long but Ginny's involvement in the harassment Harry has been made to suffer wasn't really very clear in the background chapters I wrote so she needed a fuller explanation here to justify her punishment.**

 **I got my first negative review. At least I think it was supposed to be negative. But I knew when I decided to post this story not everyone would like it or agree with my characterizations. That's ok. You don't have to read it if you don't like it. Nor do you have to agree with how I portray the characters. I believe I told everyone my character representations are how I could see the characters behaving had Ms. Rowlings chosen to interpret the events in her story another way. And for that, the main events of Harry's education in her world have to have taken place here as well. Why create new situations she did not create when the purpose is to show the way her characters acted and behaved was not the only way they could have?**

 **I do believe I've given the characters plenty of reason to behave towards Harry in the manner they are. If you missed it, that tells me you really don't understand how greed and pride can affect a persons character.**

 **I found the Harry of Ms. Rowlings universe far too much of a pansy boy who seemed to look for ways for others to walk all over him and never once stood up for himself. Not even in the epilogue she wrote did Harry actually stand up for himself and choose his own path now that his destiny was met.**

 **My Harry isn't doing that because having raised four boys of my own and having two brothers that I grew up with as well as two best friends who were male. Of those eight individuals, I don't know a single one who would act like her Harry did. Especially when they were told they were to get involved with and marry a girl who most closely remembered their dear old deceased Mum. All of them would have boxed your ears for the suggestion. Then gone and puked their guts up before going out to spend the night trolling for any other girl they could find. Then they'd have come home and boxed your ears for you again.**


	15. Library Confrontation - Ronald

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Just a reminder here: I like canon Hermione and Ron though I don't really like Ginny. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why.**

 **However this isn't canon and you won't find the canon characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rowlings did. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Fifteen: Library Confrontation - Ronald

Ron Weasely was shaking now, though whether it was in anger or fear no one was really sure. They didn't have to wait long to find out though.

No sooner had Harry finished with marking Ginny and turned to him, then Ron opened his mouth and let everyone know exactly how he felt. He was furious. He'd never in his life been as furious as he was now. He was so furious he'd burned through the silencing spell Harry had put on him and could hardly see straight. His face had gone past red into blood purple he was so very angry. His hands were clenched into tight fists and his whole body was shaking with rage as he prepared to deal with the boy he'd consistently been making a monkey of for the last four years. Luckily he couldn't seem to move or he'd have tackled and began pummeling Harry for what he'd done to the girls.

All Ron could think was, 'This cretin had marked both his girlfriend and his sister. And he acted as if he had the right to do so. They, he and Ginny, were purebloods and Hermione was his girl. That placed her above this . . this freak! Who did this halfbreed think he was?' He opened his mouth to tell him off but he never got a single word out before Harry spoke.

"Don't even bother to tell me how you think I've acted incorrectly, Ronald. I haven't though I'm sure most of your family will believe I have. You, however, I'm well aware, lack the necessary brainpower to ever understand just what exactly has given me the right to act as I have today. Smart, is the last thing you've ever been and because of your bigoted belief, you'll never do anything to try and rectify the situation as you fully expect the fact that you are a pureblood to solve every issue for you. Much as you claim Malfoy does. Unlike you however, Malfoy actually has reason to believe his blood and station will solve issues for him. He's the heir to his house while you are merely the sixth son."

"However, that is neither here nor there. You are just as entitled to your prejudices as anyone else is. For the here and now, I was very careful to make sure the punishments I've handed out to your sister and Ms. Granger, and will be handing out to you, are not only justified and within my rights but that they're still on the books as legal courses of action a wronged wizard, no matter his or her age, may take against those who have wronged them. Therefore, you can take it to the ICW for all I care and you'll get nowhere because I have all these lovely witnesses to your admission of the crimes the three of you have committed against me since you met me four years ago."

"You should be grateful I'm dealing with you myself rather than have your lazy butt hauled before the Wizengamot and kicked out of this school because, Ronald Bilius Weasley, since I'm well aware of exactly where your tuition money for the past four, now five, years has come from, I am totally within my rights to do so. Because in all the years you have attended this school on my coin, not for one single semester have you achieved a passing grade point average."

"But I know you well enough to know you won't be. You are an arrogant ponce of a boy who feels he's entitled to all the good things in life just because you were fortunate enough to be born to a pair of pureblood magical people. Just as you feel you are entitled to come to a premier magical school instead of one of the many lower end schools where children are trained to actually work for their living. Grateful for my handling of this situation is the last thing you'll ever be."

"Especially since you put forth so very little effort to actually earn a decent education here to make my subsidy of your education a profitable venue for investment. You are and have been wasting my coin but you don't care because you are a pureblood. How many classes did you fail last term? How about the term before that? Can't remember. Tell you what. Just tell me one class you've actually passed here since we were first years. Can't name one? Doesn't surprise me. You can't even pass Divination with an EE like everyone else in the class does. All you get is an A and that's just pathetic."

"And we both know damn well you have personally endangered my well-being more than once over the years. You had a murderer sleeping in the dorm room with me all through our first year. You even admitted the damn rat liked to crawl up and snuggle down on my pillow when I was sleeping. And when I was moved out of the dorm, how many times did I have to give that rat back to you in a class because he'd gotten out of the tower and made his way to my prison chamber? A rat that wasn't a rat at all. A rat that was actually a man in hiding. A man everyone in this world believed to be dead already. A murderous man who had fifteen kills to his credit that we know of. Fifteen people that included my parents! A man who framed another for his crimes. For his own supposed death just so he could escape his just punishment."

"And you think I should replace it for you why? Would you be happy if I found and turned Bellatrix LeStrange into a rat and gave her to you to replace the murderer of my parents? Would that finally satisfy you? I'm sure Neville won't mind having the torturer of his parents staying in his dorm with him. Though I do think she'd be a better snake than a rat. Maybe you think you can explain to Neville how his safety and mental well-being isn't as important as you having a pet to talk trash about and forget to feed or tend. Don't even try and claim you took care of that rat, Ronald because we both know you didn't. If you had I wouldn't have spent the next two years after our first year catching the damn thing in my prison here to return it to you."

"But you don't want anyone to know that do you, Ronald? Don't want anyone to know your rat was actually a man. A man who is a murderer many times over. A murderer who's claim to notoriety is being the true betrayer of my family and trying to cover it up by accusing someone else of it while killing thirteen innocent people to make his get-away. Yet, you actually wanted to spend my gold replacing that dirty, worthless excuse of a pet rat this year. With, if my understanding is right, a shaggy, black haired dog to torment Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. All because Sirius Black, my Godfather, who was a shaggy, black haired dog animagus, was after your pet rat. A rat that wasn't actually a rat at all, was it? And Crookshanks was trying to help him get it. Because Crookshanks knew her owner, a girl you profess to love and care about, wasn't safe so long as that man disguised as a rat was in the tower. So you wanted to get a replacement pet to torment both of us, didn't you? How is it you claim to love her again? When you openly claim to want a pet solely so that it will torment her pet?"

"Bad enough you tried to stake a claim to Hedwig immediately after we discovered the truth about that filthy rat claiming I owed her to you for your loss of him. But then to hear this year you planned to use my money to buy yourself a dog. A dog who'd grow to resemble my dead Godfather. . . You're disgusting, Ronald Weasely. Pathetic and mean-spirited. Jealous, spiteful, arrogant and cruel. Perfect Death Eater material provided you actually learn to use your brain well enough to survive the training they undergo."

"You endangered all your dorm mates having that thing in our dorm but that doesn't matter to you, does it? Hell, every person in this school was in danger because you had that thing here in disguise as your pet. A form of pet not even mentioned on the list of acceptable pets. Yet you wanted me to pay to replace it for you? All you care about was he was your pet and because of me, you lost him. Boo Hoo." Low growls filled the room as everyone came to understand the cruelty in what Ron's choice of replacement pet would have been had he been able to enact his desires. The future Death Eaters in the room ignored what Harry had said about the Dark Lord's followers believing he didn't truly know what being one meant.

"You betrayed me. Repeatedly. For no better reason but that you wanted an adventure you could brag about or fame that wasn't rightfully yours to claim. Yes, Ronald I'm well aware of how you and these two cretins have spent the end of every one of the last three years taking credit for my deeds while doing everything in your power to label me as the reason said actions needed to be taken to begin with. To hear you talk, it wasn't that girl you call a sister writing in the diary but me that endangered the school. As if I'm so stupid that I don't know my own name or am so poor I'd have to get a secondhand diary to write in at all. I'm not so arrogant as to write in a diary belonging to someone else. Only you or that girl would do something like that and believe your secrets safe within it's pages. Hell, with you and your girl here around, I'd never dare to write my secrets down anywhere. Because they wouldn't be my secrets for long if I did, would they? Neither one of you have ever had an ounce of respect for my privacy. Nor, considering I know she stole my short pants from my trunk when I stayed at the Burrow, does your sister. What ten year old right thinking girl steals a twelve year olds short pants from his trunk in her brother's room?"

Ginny, not realizing she could be heard, muttered, "I was eleven then. Not ten." It didn't help her any as several students sneered at her and the two adults merely rolled their eyes.

"But let's talk about that long ago Potions class. The one where you convinced me to provide the distraction Hermione claimed to need. So she could illegally brew that advanced potion she badgered us over because allegedly she wanted to see if she could make it as it was really advanced and sounded interesting. You're the one who had an illegal firework in your pocket. Tell me Ronald why were you carrying that firework in your pocket that day? I know you never did so before then. Nor do I believe you've done so since. Yet that day you just happened to have it in your pocket? And why Ronald did you hand it to me telling me to lob it into Malfoy's cauldron? Why his and no one else's?" He paused for a second to see if the hotheaded boy would give an excuse.

"Never mind. I'll tell you why. Because you wanted to see what would happen, didn't you Ronald? All I had to do to cause a sufficient distraction was raise my hand. Since I barely raise my head in his class, Professor Snape, who already knew Hermione was going into his storeroom that day, would have taken my upraised hand for what it was. The distraction she needed to slip out of the classroom. But you delight in the pain and misery of others, don't you? No one would've gotten hurt simply because I raised my hand, would they? So that wasn't good enough for you, was it? Too tame for your tastes wasn't it? There be no enjoyment in that story for you, would there? And that wouldn't have given your boss anything to blackmail me over. Would it? You wanted someone to get hurt. All the better if it was Malfoy because you don't like him. Too much like looking in a mirror for you. A mirror that shows who you could have been if you'd just had different parents."

Harry couldn't help the hurt that showed in his expression from the memory of that incident. He knew he himself could have taken a moment to think about what he did before he threw the firework. So he was to blame for Draco getting hurt. But Ron had set him up and then laughed when he got punished and the incident was used against him later. The only thing Ron had said when Harry brought the matter up was, "You didn't have to throw it, Mate. You could have said no." Ron said nothing now though as he did remember when Harry had brought it up in the past. It was the one time Harry had refused to speak to Ron for over a month and Ron knew the only reason he'd begun speaking to him again was because Hermione gave him no peace over the issue. Neither did Dumbledore.

He didn't bother waiting for Ronald to verbally confirm his personal guilt since he knew Ron well enough to know he'd never voluntarily admit his own guilt without making a whole lot of noise about how it wasn't his fault and others were to blame as well. More to blame than himself anyway. And in the process of dealing with the girls he had already listed everything Ron had done to him over the years for the requirements of the spell casting he needed to do. Like the girls, Ron had also already admitted his guilt. That meant all Ron's crimes against him were fresh in the forefront of his mind and ready for Magic to act upon. And as fast as Ron could be at forgetting things he didn't want to remember, Harry knew he had to call for Judgment quickly if it was to be successful.

He let the fact Ronald hadn't denied it in any fashion suffice to proclaim it. He raised his hand and once again his pure light magic swelled up and out of his body through his raised hand towards Ron. In response Ron's magic arose and surrounded him in a weak glow. Judgment was fast in his case. Faster than it had been for either girl.

Before anyone could say a word Ron's face was marked just as the two girls were marked. Only Ron wore two marks to their one. He wore a Patron Judgement rune just as the girls did but he also wore the Betrayer Rune since Harry knew full well the redheaded boy had deliberately tried to get Harry killed by his own hand. That mark was a rune known by all the students who had already passed their first year of Ancient Runes meaning any fourth year Runes student could tell others what the mark was. Unlike the other mark, the Betrayer mark would never fade away or be diminished in any fashion either. Nothing he did would ever diminish it. He was now permanently marked. And in this society that meant his life would never amount to much of anything.

Unlike the girls, his judgement mark wasn't confined to only one side of his face. His mark was centered across his nose and spread out to both cheeks though not as covering as the girl's brands. The Betrayer's Mark was right in the center of his forehead dividing his brows. Though they were two separate marks, the way they were laid out made them look like a single marking. Their placement made them the first thing people would see when they looked at him. Since he had made no secret of the number of times he had turned on Harry, betraying him in one fashion or another almost every single year, his mark was very dark. There would be no covering it up or trying to disguise what it was because Ronald Weasely had never intended to really be the friend and helpmate of Harry James Potter. He had only wanted to use him to get as much as he could from the relationship before Harry died as the sacrifice for the people Dumbledore claimed he was.

"Congratulations, Ronald," Harry sneered. "You have always wanted some kind of a sign that would let everyone know exactly who you are without you having to say a word. Something to distinguish you from the masses. To set you apart from all the other Weasely boys. Well, now you have it. Your own mark to grant you instant recognition. And just think. It's not nearly as nebulous as my own. People will be able to discover what it means with very little effort. They won't need the your personal White Knight in Shining Duplicity to tell them what your mark means. Let's hope you enjoy the fame such marks bring a person as much as you think you will."

When the trio saw each of them bore similar marks, they all tried to flee, figuring Harry was finally done with them now. They each had one thought in mind. Find someone who could and would remove the marks before expelling Harry for doing such a cruel thing to them. But they found they still couldn't move one inch from where they stood. He hadn't released them to go yet and Magic was holding them in place until he did so. They were forced to remain facing him.

"You'll find now that you have been branded by the guilt of your own souls, judged by Magic herself, that you owe me total allegiance. You named yourselves my bought and paid for servants and as far as Magic is concerned that is exactly what you are from this day forward. Magic has found you guilty of your crimes against my person. From this day forward Magic itself will monitor and punish you for any thoughts, words or deeds you try to enact against me as your patron."

"That means from this moment on, you will never again betray me in thought, word or deed. You'll find you can no longer raise a hand against me be it physically, emotionally or spiritually. And since a lot of your crimes against me involved slandering me or talking me into doing things not in my best interest, such as lobbing a firecracker you had stolen from others into the cauldron of yet another, you will no longer be able to use your voices to bring me harm either. Because I despise liars and those who use their words with malicious intentions. You three are and have done both."

"You will no longer be able to lie in thought, word, or deed to or about me ever again. Nor will you find it easy to lie by omission about or to me. Well, at least as long as you wear those marks upon your face."

Harry's hand twitched and Severus correctly interpreted the movement. He hit Harry with another Soothing Throat charm as his voice was getting hoarse again making it hard to understand what he was saying. This was the fourth, maybe fifth, time he'd had to hit him with the charm since this confrontation began and he was beginning to wonder if the boy would be able to finish it without losing his voice completely. Severus knew it was very important everyone know and understand exactly what the boy was doing here today because it'd be the people witnessing the event that would keep the boy out of whatever scheme Dumbledore and his cronies cooked up from the fallout.

Harry smirked at the triad. "Since I know you really aren't that intelligent, I'll explain exactly what that means. It means you will never again falsely represent yourselves as acting in my best interests or on my behalf without my knowledge and permission. It means you will never again call yourselves my friends because you are not and never have been my friends in any manner or by anyone's definition. Except maybe old two-face in his ivory tower who doesn't actually know what friends are any more than he understands the issue of forgiveness and when it is warranted from when it isn't." He frowned over that thought for a moment before continuing.

"It means you will never again take credit for things I've done, said or thought. Or tell others I've said or done things I haven't. It means from this point onwards, if I tell you not to tell someone or anyone something I said or done, you will not do so as soon as my back is turned. Regardless of who asks you. And you will find trying to do so will only bring you pain and misery for your efforts. In other words, from this moment on, you will become trustworthy people."

"From this moment on, any false word against me you try to utter, you will pay dearly for. Every lie you try to tell you will choke on. Every action you undertake to bring me harm, will cost you according to the severity of your action. Magic will decide the price you pay for any future acts of betrayal against me. From this moment on, my secrets are truly my secrets and you three will not be spreading them around like confetti at a ticker tape parade. From this moment on, my deeds and secrets are not a currency you have in abundance any more than you do galleons in Gringott's. Which by the way I took back. Since I never gave permission for the three of you to be paid for your betrayal of me, I saw no reason why you should keep your ill-gotten gains. That is why you no longer have those vault keys."

Ron's confusion was showing through his angry glare so Harry sighed and tried again to explain things to the dense redhead. "In other words, Ronald, because I do know just exactly how dense you truly are, you will no longer be able to walk the halls defaming my character to everyone while demanding that I go sacrifice myself for your family or Dumbledore's Greater Good game. Just because the Old Candyman is engaged in a turf war with ole Tommy Boy doesn't mean I should be the turf they're fighting over. And from now on, you won't be helping them in their fight by dragging me to their agreed upon detentes."

"I understand you're only trying to rebuild your family and make it so that in the future your family will be the leading family of Magical British society. But you'll no longer do it at my expense. And for the record, even in antiquity your family was never the equal of my family. We were always your betters because we had honor and integrity while few of your ancestors did. There's a reason your family name is Weasely."

Now everyone looked confused. Harry rolled his eyes and muttered, "And you purebloods study genealogy. Sheesh." Snape smirked. A little louder Harry explained, "You see, people in antiquity took names that somehow defined them. Or in the case of your ancestor, were named by others for the trait that defined them most. A weasel is not, and never has been, a nice or noble creature. But it has been around for a very long time and it has always liked to make it's home around human habitation where prey is easy to find." He dropped the topic because he really didn't care if they got his point about it or not.

"But in this time, until the day those marks are removed from your faces, you'll never again say or do anything against me or mine to try and bring harm, shame or even ridicule upon me or my name. Any action, word or deed you do engage in will be punished by the mark you now bear. And if you persist in trying to bring me harm, the punishments of the rune will grow stronger. Ronald, you will forevermore wear the mark of the Betrayer for all the world to see because that is exactly what you are as determined by the guilt of your own soul. Nothing you do will ever remove that rune from your countenance and no method will ever succeed in disguising it because by your own hand you tried to kill me, your patron. In full knowledge that I was your patron."

"Remember this. You were the ones who stood here and said I was paying you for services rendered. Well, as the person paying you for your services, I decided to change the payment to something you truly deserve. You Weaselys were raised in this world and are fully aware actions have consequences. Not all of them pleasant. You know damn well what it means to take coin from someone and then betray their trust by engaging in actions by which they could be seriously harmed or killed. You know when you agree to take someone's coin from them for a service, you are required by magic to fulfill that service to them."

"You agreed to take my coin to be my friend," He said pointing at Ron. Turning his finger to Hermione he said, "You agreed to take my coin to be my study buddy and aide me with my learning." Pointing to Ginny he said, "And you took my coin and agreed to hold yourself in waiting for me should I decide at some date in the future I had a need of your company no matter what form that company might take."

"All three of you failed to live up to your obligations to me. The one who's coin you were taking." He let the collective absorb that before continuing. "Just as you know, or should know, what it means when you owe a debt on your magic to another. Such as a life debt. This is the service I demand. Obedience, Truthfulness and Loyalty. From all three of you. Go learn what it means."

As one, the trio walked out of the library. Not one of them could say why they were obeying him because they certainly didn't wish to. But they were. As soon as they were gone, Harry sank back down in the chair he had been sitting in when they accosted him. He was pale and shaking now that it was over and his throat hurt. Badly. Yet he knew better than to show a weakness in front of the Slytherins. They'd eat him alive for it.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. This is shorter than the last two chapters because there really wasn't much point in drawing it out with Ron. He'd just too stupid and angry to understand why he's being punished right now. But Harry did need to explain what he did to the trio so I used this chapter to do that. I hope it makes sense.**


	16. After Shocks

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Just a reminder here: I like canon Hermione and Ron though I don't really like Ginny. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why.**

 **However this isn't canon and you won't find the canon characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rowlings did. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Sixteen: After Shocks

The Ravenclaws had already lost interest in him now that the three had left the Library. They were pouring over their notes taken during the confrontation and comparing them to try and make sure they had the entire episode recorded as they tried to gather their things and the books they'd been reading for checking out. They had a class next period but they also wanted to discuss what they'd just seen and heard. So they weren't exactly being all that quiet or effective in vacating the Library. Madam Pince was doing her best to hurry them on their way while checking out their reference books for them as she knew they had a class in five minutes to get to.

The Slytherins were alternating between reading through their notes, watching him and staring towards the stacks waiting for a directional cue. Like the Ravenclaws they also wanted to dissect the Showdown for any dirt they could possibly use to their own advantage. But the Library was a public place and dirt in more hands than your own becomes somewhat less effective. So they were also trying to jealously guard their notes from their fellows. Just in case their dicta quill caught something others had missed. They were also trying to sneak a peek at the parchments others were guarding in case they saw or heard something they themselves missed.

Once the last of the Ravenclaws had left, and from his position in the stacks, Severus waved his snakes out of the library and the librarian, who had now turned towards Harry back to her desk, before turning to the weary boy who's head was drooping and eyes were closing. Clearly the boys' energy had run dry. With a thoughtful gleam in his dark eyes, he walked over to where the boy sat.

"Come on, Potter. Let's get you somewhere you can sleep for a bit. I think that took a lot more magic than you want anyone to know about." He knew that wasn't strictly true since it wasn't Potter's magic which the spell had used. But at the same time it was true since Potter had been using his own magic to hold the three in place until Magic had cast it's judgment on them and in the case of the Weasely boy, silence him while he called for Judgement against them. Not to mention he might have been using his own magic to reinforce his voice and bolster his sense of presence. Severus couldn't really say for sure. But it also didn't matter because he could tell the boy was tired now. Exhausted really and that meant he'd been using a lot of his own magic. Somehow.

For once he wasn't speaking with his customary sneer. He was simply too confused and awed by the display of sheer power and knowledge he'd never truly believed Potter actually possessed. Fawkes, who'd moved to the tabletop, trilled lightly as if to show agreement with the Professor.

Other than blinking, Harry was too exhausted to show his surprise at finding the Professor behind him. He nodded to Fawkes as he gathered up his books and the Professor put them into his bag for him, keeping hold of it when Harry would have taken it back for the long trek to his room which was still the same one he had occupied since second year. He was still in isolation from the rest of the student body but this time by his own choice. In one way or another, he'd been living in a prison almost all his life. While the Dursleys had improved in the last year or so, they'd still barely given him houseroom until the beginning of last summer. And here in the Castle, he'd been in isolation far longer than he hadn't. He no longer cared since he knew he didn't and never would have any friends amongst the students.

"Do you have a potion for my throat, Professor?" Harry asked in a raspy whisper as they left the library wincing with the pain of saying more. "I'm not used to talking so much any more. And now my throat hurts something awful. I don't have a fresh throat soother made yet either," Harry whispered rubbing at the front of his throat.

"I'll give you a soothing draught once you're back in your rooms. That and some sleep would not be amiss, I believe. Though I did think you'd been allowed back in the tower this year."

Harry sneered and forced himself to give a verbal answer. "I won't voluntarily sleep there again, Professor. Why should I when they've all proven repeatedly not to be trustworthy fellows? Would you stay in a room where you have to wonder every time you go to sleep if this is the time you won't wake up for the knife one of your room mates is concealing behind his back? Or just how many of your possessions are now being claimed by someone else. They may call themselves lions but they behave more like hyenas and jackals. Or maybe monkeys. Monkeys can be quite vicious when their territory is invaded."

Severus walked him down to his solitary chambers and saw the boy inside, making sure he was tucked up nice and safe before giving him the requested potion for his abused throat. Then he dimmed the lights and instructed the door portrait to make sure the boy wasn't disturbed before he had to be up for classes the next day. Not once did he bother to ask where Harry had learned that spell or about life debts and how exactly they were incurred. He'd question Irma about that as she would more than likely know as well as being able to get him a copy of that book so he could read up on the spell himself.

Nor did he chide Harry for refusing to stay in his appointed tower. Truthfully, as someone who's life was always on the line, he understood what the boy was saying. He wouldn't have been comfortable staying there either in his place. His own life had always been in danger since even his own father had been a verifiable threat to his well-being. Which was probably why he hadn't recognized the danger of becoming a Death Eater until it was too late to back out or walk away, now that he thought about it. Personal danger had always been a constant in his life.

As for taking vengeance on the trio, in his opinion, the Triad deserved everything they'd gotten and more. And if Harry hadn't gotten his revenge on them personally, Severus knew damn well he'd have done something himself. He was after all the boy's Guardian/Protector here in the magical world. He may not have wanted to be but he was. He even had it in writing just in case he had to act in a way that called it into question. It was his duty to look after the boy and his interests. That definitely meant dealing with those who harmed or tried to harm him. No matter what their reasons for doing so. And those three had done more than try. Still, the boy had done an admirable job getting vengeance on them himself.

So, he reflected as he walked first to the Library where Irma handed him a copy of the booklet and then to his tower and the waiting Slytherins, he was proud of him for it. The boy had aced as a perfect Slytherin in the way he had trapped them and delivered his just punishment on them. How could he not be proud of that? As Draco had said last year, Gryffindor tie or not, Potter's more Slytherin than he ever was a Gryffindor.

He stopped outside the tower for a few minutes to read through the section Irma had marked for him and couldn't help smirking again when he finished reading. The boy had done well. He didn't have a doubt in his mind after listening to every word spoken today, those three had deserved what happened to them and it helped that Harry was correct in his summation. It was his right to do so. Not only was he the wronged party for all three but he was a Wizard of high standing in their world. Much higher than the three who had been defaming and defrauding him. Not even the Ministry would deny that. So no matter how much the three complained or who they complained to, nothing would come of it.

He entered the Slytherin common room to find it packed full with every Slytherin who wasn't in a class right now. Those who hadn't been in the Library for the Showdown were sending him questioning looks while those who had were looking smug. His smirk grew as he knew those who had missed the Showdown and weren't here now would be really upset over what they'd missed. Anything involving the Triad and Potter was hot news to the student body. He began to speak and his children listened carefully to what he had to say.

He explained what the fifth years had seen in the Library and explained that yes, what Potter had done to the Triad was legal and justified. That they were in essence tried by Magic and found guilty by Magic. That it was their own gift that would be used to hold them to the rules of their punishment. It helped, he told the children, that even wizarding law said Harry had the right to punish them for their crimes if they admitted to said crimes in front of witnesses. Which they so obligingly had.

It had taken him a few minutes to explain to the children that the magic Potter had used was neither light magic nor dark magic. It was Judgment magic used in the days before the Wizengamot and still legal because the 'gamot hadn't ever gotten around to formally outlawing it. Judgment magic in those days had been widely used when one magic user accused another of wrongdoing. Though it was still legal today, most people had forgotten about it and didn't try to use it.

This Severus knew was nothing but the truth of the matter. He'd made a detailed study of the current laws when he'd realized the error of taking the Dark Mark and found Albus wasn't really a better Master than the Dark Lord. Albus had implied just having the mark on his arm was illegal and he could get Severus arrested just for having it on his forearm. But the law said no such thing. Being marked was not a crime. Nor could the person who administered the mark be arrested for doing so since having or baring a mark wasn't against the law no matter what said mark was for. You still had to prove the marked person had done something illegal.

He'd decided then and there he needed to know how he could help himself when the day came and he was no longer of any use to Albus Dumbledore. Because he knew when that day arrived Albus would toss him aside without a care for whether or not he'd survive the tumble. And that was only if he didn't force him into a position where he'd be breaking the law in front of witnesses so he could be legally arrested and detained. because the Albus that he knew didn't leave tools or toys he was finished using or playing with laying around where another might pick them up and use them against him. He would seek to make sure Severus wasn't and never could become a threat against him.

As a result of all his study into the laws, he knew Harry could've chosen to punish the Triad in any manner he wished so long as said punishment didn't involve permanent enslavement, incarceration, dismemberment, or death. His justice hadn't involved any of that. Well, except for the Betrayer's Brand seeing as how that one would never go away. But no one was going to protest that mark and disfigurement wasn't against the rules. So it was quite likely that even if someone did protest it,( Minerva, Albus) they wouldn't get far. Because while the Patron Rune was a behavior modifier it wasn't permanent. All it did was force them to change their undesirable habits. The Betrayer's Rune didn't force Mr. Weasely to change his behavior at all so that didn't count either.

However, seeing as the Mark had been formed by his own magic and not Potter's, it was very clear it wouldn't be there if the punk wasn't indeed guilty of betraying Potter. So again Harry had been correct. It was his right to administer punishment upon the brat who'd tried to kill him. And it could've been worse. No matter what the Triad thought, things could've gone a hell of a lot worse for all of them. And probably would've had their punishment been delivered by anyone but Harry. Merlin knew, Severus would've done a lot worse to them for what they'd been doing to a child under his protection. He might not like Potter and Merlin knew he resented being his Guardian/Protector but he definitely would've taken vengeance for the boy had he learned of their duplicity before Potter had acted against them.

The Triad were still free to act as they wished, go where they wished and do as they pleased so long as what they chose to do or say didn't in any manner impinge upon Mr. Potter, his actions or his character. They were free to live at home and attend school. They could play sports, study as they would, take whatever classes they like, or even quit school and get jobs of their choosing to support themselves. Mr. Potter wasn't controlling what grades they received or even demanding a minimum standard for them to remain enrolled in Hogwarts. And with the two Weasely children, he most certainly could do that if he chose. He was the source of their scholarship. He could set the rules for that quite easily. Nor was he demanding they withdraw and attend a different school where he wouldn't have to see them any longer as he so easily could've since he paid their tuition here. Merlin knew, if anyone else had been paying their tuition, Ronald Weasely would've lost his scholarship half way through his second year here seeing as he rarely got a mark higher then a 'D'. Potter had even made a point of telling that blowhard he knew there were other secondary level magical schools he and his sister could attend. Yet they were free to remain here at Hogwarts.

The punishment wasn't permanent since by acceding to the rightness of the brands and then atoning for their wrong doing, it was possible the marks would fade away in time. It'd take a lot of time for the runes to fade but the potential for them to do so was there. And that was all that was necessary by law.

He paused in his step as he thought he really did want to know just how and when Mr. Potter had learned that spell and the laws that allowed him to bring it into play today. That was something he never expected the Potter he knew to know of. Let alone know well enough to be able to actually enact it against three of his enemies. He continued on his way for once happy with the way his day had gone. For that matter, he thought, he wanted to know what else Mr. Potter was hiding in that head of his. Because if he was hiding the ability to do spells that old and powerful as well as the knowledge of said spells, there was no telling how much the boy really knew or could do. For that matter hadn't he heard the brat say he hadn't made himself any fresh Throat Soother yet? Since when could the Brat brew his own potions? If he could brew that, what else could he and was he brewing for himself? He intended to find out.

But for Severus - he grinned as he made his way down to his own chambers - the best part was there was absolutely nothing Albus could do about it. His Slytherins had all received his message loud and clear to immediately compose a letter to their parents informing them of the ritual punishments they'd witnessed today in the library and to spare no details in the telling. He had no doubt many of the witnessing Ravenclaws were doing exactly the same thing right now. Being in a class right now or not, the Ravenclaws who had witnessed the Showdown would be composing letters home one way or another.

Severus knew he only got the chance to spread word of today's happenings because Dumbledore was out of the Castle right now. What he was doing was anyone's guess as, of course, Albus hadn't seen fit to inform any of the staff what his plans for the day were or where he could be reached should a situation arise here. Oh well. His loss. As the saying went. He was tempted to start whistling he was so happy. Too bad he really couldn't whistle at all.

And by the time Albus returned and learned of the confrontation, the owls would already have flown free with their missives. Word would have gone out and there would be no way to recall it. But he was determined the old man wouldn't be able to cover this up or put such a spin on it people would hate Potter over it like they did so many of the other games Dumbledore had enacted here in the Castle. Harry Potter had finally had enough of the old man's games and manipulations and had taken a stand. Slytherin house would support that stand even if they didn't like the boy personally. Which a lot of them didn't. But they were his peers and even they knew the Triad deserved what he did to them.

Most of the parents, who'd be contacted by his students and the Ravenclaws, held important positions either in the Ministry or on the school board and all of them would, if they didn't already know it, immediately look up the legality of Mr. Potter's actions. They'd be ready for any play Albus tried to make to force Mr. Potter to recant his position and remove the runes. Not that he could. As Potter had told the Triad, only they could remove the marks that were made with their own magic, formed by the guilt in their own minds and hearts and held in place as a monitor of their future choices and actions by their own innate magic.

Slytherin, for the most part, had changed their attitude on Harry James Potter after coming to actually see the boy for who he was all during that fiasco last year. Draco had been right when he'd told his year mates Potter had given up and was no longer caring what they or anyone else thought of him and his actions. But in coming to acknowledge that, his Slytherins had seen Potter truly wasn't any different from them. The only difference between them was it wasn't his parent or family member playing with his life, heart and mind. It was their Headmaster. Because his family had already been taken away from him. By the Headmaster and his games.

Hearing Potter today name the Headmaster as nothing more than a Gang Leader having a turf war with his rival Gang Leader should help them come around to Potter's side even more. Not to mention the open disrespect the boy had shown with all those inventive nicknames he'd given the man. But that, Severus knew, would take time. A lot of time. Because they'd been raised to believe Potter was their enemy simply because their parents followed the Dark Lord who'd sworn himself against the boy. And Potter wasn't any more likely to follow the Dark Lord than he would Albus. Severus knew that without even having to ask the boy. If Potter wouldn't forgive the Triad for their offenses against him there was no way he'd forgive the Dark Lord. After all the Dark Lord had killed his parents while attempting to kill him. And he was still attempting to kill Potter. And failing. Severus smirked.

Nor could Albus claim it was Dark Magic as there were far too many witnesses who could tell him point blank no one was hurt at all in the marking. Not even the Triad had felt any pain in the marking of their persons. Itching was not the same as pain regardless of what Granger might think. Nor was it a blood ritual as no blood had flowed from any of the people present at the time to power the casting. Not even in the formation of the runes now marring their faces, had any blood flowed. Therefore, it was in no way a blood ritual.

And since everyone had seen the color of Harry's magic while he cast the spell, everyone could tell him the magic had been extremely light in orientation. Almost everyone had witnessed Ginerva Weasely's magic rising up to meet Harry's as the spell was cast over her. Not to mention everyone had seen Fawkes fly in and sit upon Potter's shoulder and even the youngest children knew a phoenix would never stay near anything dark. For that matter from the feel of the magic that swelled up in the room during that girl's marking it seemed as if Fawkes was actually aiding Potter in marking her. Nor had Fawkes flown away after she was marked. The Phoenix had stayed to watch the marking of the boy as well. if nothing else Fawkes presence during two of the markings said it was anything but dark magic.

It was, beyond any doubt, Light Magic though come to think about it, that girls' own magic had definitely not been all that light at all. That surprised him now that he was thinking about it. He had always assumed the Weasely clan had very light natured cores but Ginerva Weasely's magic while not exactly dark couldn't be called light either. Royal purple. Not lilac or violet. But purple. Vibrant. Impossible to miss or mistake for any other color. Her brother's magic had been too weak to read though from what he'd seen of it, it looked to be rusty red which for a light wizard really wasn't all that good. Not dark precisely. But not really all that light either. Hers however had been easy to see and read. Not that it really mattered her brother had lighter magic than she did. That Betrayers Rune on his forehead pretty much said no one would ever trust him again. Granger's really hadn't surprised him all that much. Hers was a dark greyish blue. Which meant she wasn't half the light orientated witch she pretended to be. Or that Minerva claimed she was. But then Severus had always thought Granger was a dark witch in the making. One who could rival Morgana LeFay if she got the right kind of training. Because she certainly had the brain and the drive to become one.

He was almost smiling as he went through the remainder of his day. He'd discovered two witches with dark magic hiding in the light pretending they were Light witches. Maybe he should tell the Dark Lord about them the next time the man was on a tear and hurting him just because things weren't going his way. He was always on the lookout for up and coming dark witches to marry his young dark wizards. It'd certainly distract the monster.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I think this is a shorter chapter because it was just in Severus' head and I couldn't figure out how to get out of there. Damn man trapped me there. (Crosses arms and pouts) Still he had some interesting thoughts so since he wanted me to, I included them for you.**


	17. Breakfast the Next Morning

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Just a reminder here: I like canon Hermione and Ron though I don't really like Ginny. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why.**

 **However this isn't canon and you won't find the canon characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rowlings did. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Seventeen: Breakfast the next morning

The next day, just as Severus had suspected would happen, Minerva was up in arms for her poor, injured little lions. Severus simply snorted at her when he heard her calling Potter a nasty, mean-tempered, little brat to do something like that to those poor children after all they'd done for him over the years. He said nothing though, knowing the irate Scots woman wouldn't hear anything he said. She never did when she was upset over something one of those three claimed Potter did or said.

"My poor little lions just went to ask him if he'd come back to the common room and hang out with them. Maybe study with them like they used to do before he was moved to private chambers. We're trying to convince him it's safe for him to come home now. The danger to him that Albus has always claimed was facing him isn't here this year and the children miss him and want him back in the tower. Not that giving him a private room did any good when he insisted on hunting out the very danger the room was to protect him against. But he's been avoiding spending time in the tower and letting my good lions tell him they forgive him for his previous bad behavior. So they wanted to find him and talk to him on his own ground as it were."

"But he did this to them. Repaid their kindness by striking out at them. Hurting them. They didn't do anything to deserve being disfigured like that," Minerva insisted. She was so angry she was actually making a mess of her breakfast, ripping her toast to shreds and crumbs while mashing her eggs into a paste. She'd even ruined her morning tea by adding too much honey to it for her own tastes. Albus would like it if she added a touch more cream but she wouldn't. These days Albus preferred everything he ate or drank to be more sweetener than substance.

"I'll definitely be speaking to Albus about it for them when he returns. This time, Mr. Potter has gone too far. This time, I'll insist Albus punish him. Or allow me to do so. He needs to be punished for this. He needs to learn he can't just do whatever nasty prank he wants whenever he wants. And it was a prank. Don't even try to tell me it wasn't. The last time he did something where another student was injured, Albus rewarded him by giving him a private room. A room he wouldn't let me rescind until this year because he claims Mr. Potter likes having a private room. And he wants to indulge him because he's his magical guardian. Albus lets him get away with too much. Far too much if you ask me," she sniped.

That was going too far. Much too far as far as Severus was concerned. he stopped stiring honey into his own cup of tea and dropped the spoon to clatter sharply on the saucer unintentionally drawing the full attention of every diner in the hall as he did so. Severus spoke up eyeing her sharply, "First off, you _poor little lions_ lied to you. Again. Not surprising since I know they've made a habit out of lying to authority more often than they tell the truth during their time here. And you're a gullible fool for always believing every little word they tell you. But for expediency I'll concentrate only on the incident at hand now." He didn't stop to consider just how the Triad had managed to lie to her when their marks forbade anything of the sort now. He knew them and her well enough to know they'd probably said just enough for her to leap to a conclusion they favored. And she'd been only too happy to do exactly that. Minerva was the proud embodiment of what being a Gryffindor was to any well bred Slytherin.

"For the record, they _did not_ go to the library intending to ask Mr. Potter to return to the common room and hang out with them or study with them. Considering the trouble they have gone through over the years to keep him out of said common room, I'd be surprised to discover that thought had stayed in their minds longer than it took them to say the words to you."

"Yes, they did, Severus. Why would they tell me that was why they wanted to track him down if it wasn't true? They aren't liars like he is. Despite him being moved to private rooms, they've gone to a lot of trouble to remain his friends. Not that he does anything to support their efforts, of course. Shunning them when they go to the trouble to make time in their schedules just to hang out with him and help him with his schoolwork. Ms. Granger even made special trips to get him books from the library he could use so he'd get better marks on his homework. Because she knew we were to chaperone him everywhere and we didn't have time to schedule him Library visits. He was never appreciative of her efforts and it showed in the homework he turned in. Never bothered to actually read the books she got for him at all. Ungrateful brat. James would be so ashamed of his son. And Lily wouldn't be happy with him, either. She valued her education here and she'd want him to do the same. She also knew how to treat her friends. Just like James did. No matter what you say, I know they wouldn't lie to me like you are always claiming they do," Minerva insisted ignoring what he said about her being a gullible fool as she always did when he claimed they'd lied to her.

Severus snorted while several of the other teachers rolled their eyes or hid a grimace they knew would distract the Scottish woman. "Leave James and Lily out of this, if you please. Because I definitely disagree with you about that but it's not the focus of this discussion. And I never again want to hear you insinuating he's somehow being given special favors by having a room outside of his tower. That room wasn't given to him as any sort of a favor from Albus and you know it. It's an isolation chamber. A punishment room meant for students who can't be expelled but have seriously done wrong during their schooling and endangered either themselves or another student. In essence it's a prison cell here in the school. Students assigned to one have no freedoms all the other students enjoy because they are being punished. Which is why we had to escort him to his meals, showers and classes during his second year. He wasn't allowed to move freely through the school."

"And if I recall the matter correctly it was you who demanded he be moved into it when Albus refused to expel him simply because he'd displayed a talent you considered to be unworthy of a Gryffindor. Yes, he threw a firework into Mr. Malfoy's cauldron causing an explosion that injured Mr. Malfoy. But that wasn't why he was put into the isolation chamber. He was placed into it because your proud brave little lions forced him out of the tower because supposedly they didn't feel he was Gryffindor enough to remain there. Something about being able to speak to snakes making him unworthy of wearing the red and gold. As if he had a choice about that. You are either born with the ability or you're not. The excuse of having hurt Draco was just that. An excuse they used to explain to the rest of the school why they evicted him from the tower and that Albus pounced on."

"He was not born with that nasty ability. James would never have had a child who could speak to snakes," Minerva bristled angrily. She ignored what he said about the private room her lion was moved into because she knew he was right in that first year, Harry's second year. She refused to believe Albus hadn't changed the nature of the room. She'd convinced herself he'd been given a private set of chambers within the school in his second year as an indulgence of Albus as was his right as Harry's magical guardian. No matter what anyone said she refused to believe Albus wasn't in any manner Mr. Potter's magical guardian as he claimed he was. Or that Severus was Mr. Potter's only guardian of any kind in the magical world.

Severus snarled angrily. "Like Potter Sr had any choice in the matter. This Potter is a Beast Speaker, Minerva. Not a simple Parcelmouth. Parceltongue is just one of the many animal languages Potter can speak and understand. Beast Speakers can speak to all sorts of different animals. You heard him speak to both the dragon and his owl last year. Dragons aren't snakes, you know. If they were every parcelmouth in the world would be working at a Dragon Preserve and would be renown for their unique talent. Yet they aren't and they don't. Why? Because they can't understand and speak to dragons. Not like Potter can and did. How much more proof do you need that he isn't a mere parcelmouth? Snakes are just one breed of animal he can speak to if he chooses to."

She blinked in surprise never having stopped to realize that. She like everyone else in the school had heard Harry speaking to both the dragon and his owl during last year's Tournament but when Albus claimed he'd used parceltongue to speak with the Dragon she'd never given it another thought. And by the time she heard him speaking to his Owl, she'd been too involved with other things to stop and realize what it meant. After all, Ms. Granger had been the surety for a foreign student that had died in the challenge. She was upset and needed her to comfort her and assure her she hadn't been the cause of his death. Mr. Weasely had also needed her because he idolized Mr. Krum. So he'd needed her as well. Nor had it ever occurred to her that Albus had lied to her about the language Potter had been speaking. Why would he? It wasn't like she could speak to the animals herself or would know what language it was. It never entered her head that was exactly why Albus had lied to her. Because she wouldn't realize he was.

"I also seem to remember a lot of complaints about him behaving dishonorably over the last three years only for it to be proven at the end of each year he wasn't the problem in the school or your tower. And almost all those complaints came from those very lions you claim are now missing him so very much. What? Do they have something else they need a fall guy for and no one else to blame? maybe someone came to school with inadequate supplies and books so your brave good lions want to raid his trunk for what they need and failed to buy? Perhaps it's just Mr. Weasely needs more sweets to tide him over between meals and thinks there'll be plenty in Potter's trunk?" He sneered at his fellow Head of House allowing his ire to show clearly. He was tired of her always badmouthing Potter on the word of Albus or the Triad without ever having actually talked to Potter and even attempting to get his side of the story. When she did manage to talk to him, it was only when she had herself fully convinced she already knew the truth of the situation and anything he had to say that didn't confirm what she believed, was therefore a lie he was telling her. "More than likely if they actually do want him back in the tower, it's only so they can spy on him easier and have more things to tattle on him over," he snarled.

"But for the present situation, those three hunted him down in the library to confront him because they found their access to his vaults had been cut off and suspected him of doing it. They walked in. Ms. Granger gave him a lecture meant to cow him into obeying her. They then stuck their hands out demanding he give them back their keys. All three had their hands out as if he had said keys on his person to give them. All three implied he wasn't being a good friend to them unless he gave them new keys to his vault. And Ms. Granger made it very clear she blamed him for the fact they no longer had their original keys to his vault because the goblins had informed her the key she had no longer fit a vault within their bank."

"What?" Minerva asked scrunching her eyes up and furrowing her brow. "I don't understand. Why would they have access to his vaults? I can see him promising them money for things from time to time and reneging on giving it to them. He's just that kind of a boy. But that wouldn't mean they'd have their own keys to his vault. Surely you misunderstood something."

"I did not. All three of them admitted bold as brass in a library full of people to taking money from his accounts without either his knowledge or permission, Minerva. And I don't care what you say, that makes it thievery. Ms. Granger even forgave him for the loss of the books she had planned to use his money to purchase this year. So long as he returned her key of course. Each one of them said the Headmaster set it up for them. Not Mr. Potter. Not once did they claim he approved of their gaining access to his vault. Not once did any of them claim he'd promised them any money at all. For anything. At any time. All three admitted they were getting paid from his first step into this world for 'Services Rendered'. All three of them said they felt entitled to that coin because they were his friends who helped him study and made sure he was where he needed to be with the knowledge he needed to have at the time."

She sputtered trying, scrambling, to think of a reply that would justify their claim. There really wasn't anything she could say though. Because friends, true friends, don't demand to be paid for their friendship. And them claiming to be owed keys was just that. Demanding payment in return for friendship. She took to further ruining her breakfast again as she tried to think of something to justify what he claimed he'd witnessed.

"But you know, I have been thinking about that and I honestly don't remember any of that Triad sitting down with Potter over the last three years simply to study. As you know he has been in isolation, which you alone refer to as his private room, for these past three years and mostly under guard. By us. The Professors. Mr. Filch when none of us are available. I most certainly would have noticed if someone had been studying with him as I took my turn at guard duty. Albus' so-called fears for his safety. Remember? I do, however, recall being told to let them take him from those chambers for a couple of hours unsupervised. And then later being informed Mr. Potter was once again lying in the infirmary recovering his health after yet another harrowing run-in with death calling his name. Or that there had been some kind of an encounter with something dangerous they had only just managed to get them all away from. During which somehow he was the only one injured in any manner but which at least Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasely knew exactly what had occurred to get Mr. Potter his injuries and were only too happy to tell everyone about."

The other teachers sat listening closely. They, too, had noticed a trend with Minerva's favorite students and Mr. Potter though they'd never really taken the time to look closely into the matter. For them, the four were their students only in that they attended the classes they taught but they weren't responsible for them when they weren't filling a desk in their classroom. They each had their own duties and things to think about. Filius and Pomona especially since they were Head of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff respectively. The disciplining and monitoring of the four Gryffindors outside their individual classrooms wasn't their responsibility.

Severus, however, did have a vested interest in Mr. Potter. They all knew he was the Ministry appointed Guardian/Protector for the boy while he was here on Hogwarts grounds. Something they knew annoyed Minerva to no end. They all knew she'd petitioned the Ministry to have Severus removed from the role when Mr. Potter was sorted into her house and herself inserted into it on the grounds that she was his Head of House. The Ministry had refused citing that Severus was male which with her in her capacity as Head of House gave Mr. Potter a semblance of having parents here at the Castle. Something he didn't have outside the school since his natural parents were deceased. She'd even claimed Albus was also male and as his magical guardian filled that role already for Mr. Potter. The Ministry had rejected her claim telling her Albus wasn't on record as Mr. Potter's guardian in any capacity and therefore did not fill the role at all. They, the Ministry, liked the idea of Mr. Potter having two adults of a reasonable age at the school to fill in for his deceased parents. It was even better, in their eyes, that Severus was the same age as Mr. Potter's natural parents while Albus was older than even his Grandparents had been when they died.

Severus was still raking Minerva over the coals so the teachers pulled themselves out of their memories to listen. "But worse for you is, all three of them admitted he'd never agreed to pay them one thin knut for being his so-called friends. Or whatever the hell they think they were getting paid for. The youngest one said he owed her because her family fed him and clothed him and gave him a place to sleep a couple of times over the years. Something she implied happened far more often than it actually did. I think we all know he spent a grand total of two weeks under the Weasely roof in the last four years. And for those two weeks he believed himself to be an invited guest of the Weasely clan. That was during the summer between his first and second years here. A visit that has never been repeated because, as I found out yesterday, he had to deal with having his belongings stolen out of his trunk by Ms. Weasely while he was otherwise occupied. But even if you don't believe that; she openly admitted she did steal from him, by the way; here's something for you to think about. No other child pays their host when they have a sleep over at a friends house. Rich family with a poor guest or poor family with a rich guest. Why should he?"

Weakly, Minerva replied, "Well, the Weasely family are poor Severus. He isn't. They all know he isn't. And I doubt Molly or Arthur would have asked him for anything. Nor would they have allowed their children to steal from his trunk behind his back. If she took anything from him, he probably told her she could have it. And now he's claiming she stole it when in reality she didn't do any such thing. But he could help them out. That would be something James would do. It's only being considerate. And it'd do Mr. Potter good to share what he has in abundance with those who aren't as fortunate. Teach him to be less stingy and greedy with what his parents left him."

"Yes, if they asked him, and he agreed, it would be. If he was greedy or stingy at all which I don't believe he actually is. But they didn't ask. They took. Mr and Mrs Weasely didn't ask and as far as I know didn't benefit from the thievery of their children. Nor I believe would either Weasely adult even consider asking Mr. Potter to pay to come visit them or their children. Though they might be very surprised to learn of it since it certainly explains why he has refused all other invitations I know they've extended to him over the years. But those two," he waved his teaspoon in the direction of the Gryffindor table not caring in the slightest the two misbehaving Weasely weren't present yet, "are not their parents. They had no right to steal from his vaults behind his back. Or her from his trunk while he was staying under the Weasely roof."

Filius interrupted to ask, "You said she admitted she stole from his trunk that summer though Minerva denies it. What did she steal and why?"

"His short pants and I don't even want to know why. She freely and without coercion admitted it in the Library yesterday. So yes she did steal them from him. Considering she was a ten maybe eleven year old girl at the time, that just is wrong on so many levels it isn't even funny. Yet she saw nothing wrong in raiding his trunk while he was busy with her siblings and taking his underwear from him." Looking at Madam Hooch who was rather green at the implications, he added, "She also claims her brother taught Potter how to fly and all about playing Quiditch so all his success at being a good Seeker is to her brother's credit. Not his own skill." Madam Hooch squawked in surprise and denial as Filius made a face while Pomona dropped her spoon in shock. Minerva squirmed but said nothing. She knew of the girl's obsession with the boy but had thought she'd outgrown it. However even if she had, saying anything about that long past theft wouldn't do any good right now. Nor did she see a point in belaboring the Quiditch issue and Mr. Potter's flying ability. Everyone knew the boy was a complete natural on a broom.

Severus wasn't finished with the subject though. "Even if he had agreed to pay them for his maintenance while staying under their roof, it should never have equaled paying one Hogwarts tuition for a year. Let alone two. Or more! Merlin knows by the time that girl began attending here we had five Weasely children in the school and I highly doubt Arthur's salary could cover more than one of those tuition payments. So there's a damn good chance the four here now are on scholarships. Scholarships that come from Potter's inheritance. And which he couldn't possibly have approved since two of those children are older than he is and began their education before he even knew there was such a school as Hogwarts. But at least those two earn their scholarships. Which is more than I can say for the younger two who are failing, or nearly failing, every single class they're taking."

"A two week stay somewhere certainly doesn't equal paying the schooling costs for seven years per child attending the school. No accommodation anywhere is worth that fee. If you think it does, pray tell me who else is paying a tuition for having desired to spend a couple of weeks with someone they thought of as a friend. And if they knew the cost of staying at said friends house for a couple of weeks would be to pay their way through school, how long would said friendship last after the first withdrawal of funds from their accounts?"

He didn't bother concealing his sneer as she floundered for an answer. "Does Ms. Abbott pay the tuition of Ms. Bones? or vice versa? I know for a fact those two girls spends almost as much time at each others homes as they do at their own. Ms. Davis and Ms. Greengrass are the same way. Neither of those girls pay their host family when they come for a visit. And if that's the case, then shouldn't Ms. Granger also be making some kind of payments to the Weasely household? Especially since she spends far more time there then Mr. Potter does and so uses more of the adult Weasely resources than he does?"

"But Ms. Granger isn't as wealthy as Mr. Potter is, Severus. She doesn't have the resources to call on that he does," Minerva protested. "She's muggleborn. The family knows she doesn't have as much money as our people do."

He snorted. "She is rich enough. As Mr. Potter pointed out in the Library yesterday, her parents make quite a bit of money as cosmetic dentists for the elite of their world and she's their only child. She wouldn't be a student here if they didn't. Remember, Albus doesn't accept poor muggleborns into Hogwarts Halls. Only those rich enough to afford the tuition and pay the goblin conversion fees are sent invitations to attend. Nor does she seem to have Aunts and Uncles with children of their own. So when her parents pass on, she will inherit everything they have which includes a very healthy inheritance from both sets of grandparents. So yes, if the adult Weaselys need their children's friends to pay room and board for their visits, she could certainly afford to do so. Yet as far as I know, she never has. Nor have they ever asked her to because I highly doubt they expect any such thing. From her or Mr. Potter."

"Yet he's been paying those two Weasely tuition since they got old enough to attend Hogwarts. With the grades Ronald pulls down, Potter could rightfully demand his expulsion and the Board would do nothing but escort him to the gates. Yet he hasn't and he won't. Just in case you missed it, that means he was paying their tuition before he ever met them, Minerva, as it is a well established fact he didn't meet them until he was trying to find the train to come here as a first year and tuition is paid when an invitation to attend is accepted. Not upon arrival at the school."

"But he marked them, Severus," she whined, ignoring everything he had said about the true nature of her three lions. "He had no right to do that. If he didn't want to give them what you claim they were asking for he should've just told them so. If they insisted, he could have brought the matter to one of us. But he didn't. He marked them. On their faces. Not even muggle make-up could cover the marks up this morning. The girls tried it but the marks bled right through the stuff. How are they supposed to ever be able to hold their heads up in public again? He marked them as if they were his property."

Severus made a non-committal noise as he knew it was true. "Since that is virtually what they admitted to being, you're correct. He did. They admitted he was their Patron and they have consistently been doing wrong by him for years now. They came in there demanding in front of witnesses that he allow them to continue doing wrong by him. So he treated them as was his right as their Patron. And I just got through telling you, by Wizarding law, he is indeed their patron as he is subsidizing their schooling here. He told them they wouldn't be able to conceal their new adornments. After all, in his eyes, they worked hard to earn those marks. Why should they desire to conceal them? I know for a fact he told them the route to their freedom is in their own hands," Severus said blithely.

"What? But how?" Her eyes widened it suddenly occurred to her what he might be saying. She gasped. "Surely you don't think they should apologize to him? He hurt them. They didn't hurt him."

"Wrong!" Severus snarled at her. "First off, he didn't hurt them at all. Not a one of them shed so much as a single tear when those marks were formed. Second: Even if he had, as their Patron knowingly wronged by them, he more than had the right to do so. As he told Ms. Granger he could've chosen to have them hung from the Quiditch Pitch posts and flogged daily for their crimes against him. He didn't. He chose a painless marking that left behind a visible mark they can remove in time with some diligence and hard work on their part. Third: They did hurt him. Every day for the last four years, they have been hurting him while you stand around blaming him for the things they are doing to him. Claiming he is the one doing wrong. That he deserves to be punished for the lies they spew."

"Do you have any idea how much it hurts to think someone is your friend only to find out later they were using you for what being around you could do for them? I do. More than one person has used me for my potions knowledge and skills. Or for my knowledge of Defense spells and counters. And it hurts every time. They were using him for his money and the benefits his fame can bring them. It's not quite the same as being used for your knowledge and skills but the feelings involved are. Do you know that pain? I doubt it. Or you wouldn't be sitting here claiming they haven't hurt him."

But she did know what he was talking about. When she was younger and had just achieved her Mastery of Transfiguration, she'd encountered a young man working towards his own Mastery. He had wined and dined her leading her to believe there was something special between them because he needed her skills. Once she'd done what he wanted, he'd dropped her and failed to give her credit for her work on his project as was her due. So yes, she did know what it was to be used for your skills. And yes it did hurt. But this wasn't the same situation. Her three lions weren't using Mr. Potter. She refused to believe they were no matter what Severus claimed. Slytherin always believed people were trying to use them. It didn't mean it was true.

"As for them being able to get rid of them by apologizing to him, don't make me laugh. As if empty apologies will ever balance the scales between the four of them. I know as well as he does, any apology they'd give right now would be worth less than the air it took them to say the words. And empty apologies will never get rid of those marks."

"But I'm aware you believe there was nothing pretend about the friendship they profess to have with him. That they've been better friends to him than he deserves. I know they feel no such thing and so does he. Friends don't do the things they have consistently done during their time here."

She sniffed and gave him a look that clearly told everyone she didn't believe he had any idea of how friends behave. While everyone knew he was supposedly friends with Lily when she had been plain Lily Evans, Minerva had always had her doubts about that as Lily had been such a sweet girl and a very good Gryffindor. She just couldn't see how she would've been friends with Severus of the acidic tongue and surly nature. She'd been happy when Lily had finally made it very clear she wasn't his friend at all and had started hanging out more with James and his friends. James had been such a popular Gryffindor. He had a lot of friends and he'd made a perfect husband for Lily. Too bad she'd given him such a disappointing son. James had deserved better.

"I could read you chapter and verse how those three can't be counted as friends to Mr. Potter," agreed Filius deciding to weigh in on the conversation.

"Oh? How so? I haven't seen anything that would support that, Filius," said Minerva, her pride in them showing clearly as she jumped at the chance to stop speaking to Severus. Not for a second did she believe her fellow teachers saw her favored students as poorly as Severus did. Or that any of them might have a problem with her students.

Severus snorted again as he gave up any pretense of eating his morning meal. Filius responded in his squeaky voice, "How about the number of times they walked around this school spreading rumors about him. Slandering his name, thinking he was too stupid to know what they were doing? Any of my students would've torn them apart for doing that. They must have believed he was deaf not to hear the rumors they were spreading. And let's not even go into the near death traps they deliberately led him into, just to run off and leave him to face it alone, inadequately armed or prepared. How many times has he come close to dying here, Minerva? And just how many times were those two, if not all three of them, somewhere in the wings watching it all happen but not getting involved themselves? After all, how could they take the credit if they didn't know exactly what he had to do?"

Pomona nodded her agreement. "And you know they do try to take the credit for those achievements while letting him take the blame for whatever didn't go right. Even I've heard them bragging at the end of each year. Such as when people died. Mr. Weasely even blamed Mr. Potter for the death of Mr. Creevey back in what was their second year because kids were starting to look at Ms. Weasely suspiciously. After all, there were rumors going around about what Mr. Creevey had recorded in that journal of his. And those entries made it clear the person he was tracking was a redheaded Gryffindor girl in his own year. A girl who's description Ms. Weasely fit to a tee."

Severus jumped on Minerva again. "They haven't hurt him? They've done nothing _but_ hurt him since he arrived at this school. They deserve those marks on their faces where they can't hide from who or what they are any longer. Now they will have to face the ugly truth every time they look in a mirror. They tried to _destroy_ him. They _stole_ from him. They tried to _ruin_ his reputation. They tried to _kill_ him. All he did was mark them. I'd say they got off lightly." Severus didn't care what Minerva thought as he jumped up and down on the tails of her favored students.

He rose from his seat, leaving a stunned room behind as he stalked from the Great Hall. He had been speaking softly. Quietly. But the silence in the hall was so complete, everyone heard what he had said. And Filius Flitwick, whom most of the student population believed was probably the most unbiased of their Professors, agreed with him. Everyone had heard Professor Snape's denunciation of the three marked students but only a few knew who said students were though they did know the boy who had marked them was Potter. They'd also heard the names Weasely and Granger in the discussion so they assumed it was the Gryffindor Trio Plus One the teachers had been talking about. The students who hadn't been in the Library the day before were now waiting for the Triad to come in for breakfast so they could see for themselves what all the fuss was about.

The teachers sat open-mouthed and blinking as they took in this apparent change of heart towards Harry Potter from the teacher who always claimed he was nothing but an over-indulged, spoilt, little brat too used to getting his own way to ever think of anyone but himself. But yet here he'd sat and told them all just how wrong Harry had been treated since his arrival in the magical world four years earlier.

Filius, however, was pleased. He'd decided several years ago that Severus didn't actually dislike the Potter child nearly as much as everyone believed he did. Today simply confirmed it for him. Being a halfbreed and looked down upon himself by a great deal of the magical world, he'd long believed Potter was getting the short end of the shaft from this school and the people in it. He couldn't be happier with the new events. Now maybe Mr. Potter would begin to be able to see the good side of their world instead of only the bad. Thanks to Albus and Minerva, the boy had been surrounded by only those who wanted to use him for their own ends without a care for his own well-being or happiness. But users weren't the only people in the magical world. There were good people here too. People who only wanted to help others or do things to improve their world. Maybe now Mr. Potter could get to see some of those people.

But for the rest of the staff, they were now recalling a near-death experience for Mr. Potter that he could in no way have done anything to deserve or prevent. Each of them was recalling how every school year seemed to end with Mr. Potter in the medical wing depleted of his magic and suffering from injuries that had him bordering on death yet again. Yet every year he pulled through and within a day or two Albus was returning him to his muggle home via a portkey straight there. He'd never gotten to ride the train back to London with the other students. He'd never even gotten to remain at the school long enough to receive his end of the year results.

As far as Filius knew, Mr. Potter had no idea how well he was doing in his classes at the end of each year. Mid-term, yes. At least for his Charms class. Because he always stayed here over the holidays. And Mr. Potter had always asked Filius what his mid-term grade for the class had been. But end of the year, no. Because he wasn't here to ask the teachers personally. And as he wasn't in the tower, he couldn't see the lists of class standings that were posted in each common room. So chances were good the boy had no idea how he was actually doing in any of his subjects.

Always, after he'd been sent back to the muggles early, Weasely and Granger would spend the last few weeks or days of the year badmouthing him while claiming the credit for whatever feat he had managed that had him in the infirmary. They'd always claim he'd been expelled early for breaking the rules and endangering the student body with his need to be a hero. But the teachers had noticed they'd never once been injured during any of these events. He had. But they hadn't. And yes. They all recalled Ms. Granger being turned into a stone statue when the basilisk was being turned loose on the school. But that wasn't Mr. Potter's doing. Nor had it occurred during his resolution of the crisis.

For the first time, it was occurring to the teachers Potter had never been treated the same as the rest of the student body. It almost seemed as if once he had performed whatever hero type behavior had been called for that year, Albus tossed him away until the next year began. The boy never even got to visit the village during a Hogsmeade weekend as he was always on some kind of restriction to the Castle or her grounds. Mainly to keep him safe because there usually had been some relevant threat of danger prevailing against him. But still. . .he was kept isolated here in the Castle. Away from everyone.

Professor Babbling, who taught Ancient Runes to third years and up, had just seen the Triad walking into the room bearing smug expressions. Almost as if they expected to walk into a scene where they would be lauded for having to deal with an unfair situation wherein Mr. Potter had once again struck out at them and caused them to suffer needlessly. She caught a glance at their markings and turned to Minerva saying, "Are those runes they've been marked with? Tell them to come up here. I'd like to exam those marks."

"Do you think you can remove them?"

"Remove them? I doubt it. Severus did say they are Patron Runes and only they can remove them. But I've never actually seen Patron Runes before. If they are runes, maybe I can offer you an explanation of what they stand for to help you figure it out. Runes are a language of their own with rules for usage unlike any other written language today. So I'm sure the runes themselves will tell me of their purpose." She didn't say she would tell them how to remove them even if she knew of a method to do so. All she said she'd do is point her in the right direction if she could define them. But Minerva didn't catch the omission.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I had to break this chapter in two because it was originally over 10,000 words and that's just too long. But this should be a more manageable length for you. Hope you enjoy it and the rest of the breakfast meal will be in the next chapter.** (I think my stomach is trying to tell me something. I capitalized the word Breakfast in that sentence.)


	18. The Truth Revealed

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Just a reminder here: I like canon Hermione and Ron though I don't really like Ginny. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why.**

 **However this isn't canon and you won't find the canon characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rowlings did. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Eighteen: The Truth Revealed

Minerva sighed and got up to walk down to the Gryffindor table where the twins in their usual fashion were making great sport of the three. "Leave them alone, you two hooligans. It isn't funny. Nor was it nice or necessary and you can tell Mr. Potter I will be speaking to him later about his punishment for administering them. He will also be removing them as we do not allow this type of conduct here at Hogwarts."

One twin looked to the other and asked, "Why doesn't it surprise me,"

"That her first thought is to punish," chimed in the other.

"Our friend Harry?" finished Fred.

"Because that's what she does when these three whine, my Twins," smirked their friend, Lee Jordan who was as always sitting with them.

Looking at their Head of House now, George remarked, "But by all means,"

"speak to him all you want," smirked Fred.

"It'll do you no good since," snickered George.

"he can't remove them even if he wanted to," said Fred.

"which we know for a fact he doesn't," added George.

"Nor does it surprise us,"

"you wish to punish him yet again,"

"for something they told you he did," growled Fred.

"and you don't fully understand,"

"simply because you don't like him."

"while you do like them," sneered Lee. "Though why I can't imagine since as far as I can see there is nothing to revere about the three of them."

"Our Harry's not enough like his dead Daddy for you," sneered George.

"That's just because of that mark on his head, Forge. She thinks he's evil incarnate because he's still got that mark and doesn't try to get rid of it like he should," said Lee.

"You always believe them anyway," nodded Fred.

"Even when you have no proof,"

"A few sniffles,"

"and some crocodile tears,"

"And you're a pile of goo to them," finished Lee.

"As for it being nice,"

"necessary, or funny,"

"neither was what they did to him," ended George.

"So no," inserted Lee. "He won't be removing them no matter how you choose to punish him for their hurt little feelings. Or what you claim about it not being allowed here at school. If you'd treated him fairly from the beginning it would've been necessary. But you don't. You never have. So it was."

"How do you know he can't remove them," asked a tearful Hermione who had finally gotten up the courage to look at her disfigurement this morning and was still highly upset over it.

"Because we helped him look up the laws regarding what the three of you have put him through these last four years with the total permission and approval of every adult we know," snapped Fred.

"But we didn't approve. We agree with Harry," said George laying a calming hand on Fred's shoulder that was echoed by Lee. "His life is not your toy to play with until he breaks. Nor does the contents of his inheritance belong to a bunch of greedy wankers like you three."

"You three are nothing but Weasels who stalk the unguarded henhouse waiting for the hens to lay their eggs," agreed Lee.

"Too bad Hogwarts doesn't have a Weasel House," remarked George. "You'd be perfect fits there."

Fred nodded his agreement. "Because you certainly aren't Lions. Too cowardly to fight your own battles or defend the pride when it's under attack."

"Just the jackals prowling the edges of the lion's pride grounds picking off the spoils of the pride's hunt," sneered George.

"He's the epitome of our house. Should be our House Leader. But you three can't stand that so you trash talk him behind his back. Spy on him and steal from him. Just so you can spread more filth about him and lie to the adults about what he's doing or why he's doing it," said Lee.

"While he's trying to save lives and protect the student body from harm," agreed Fred while George glared at the Trio hatefully.

"So after finding the laws we believed the three of you broke were actually laws still on the books. And better yet. Laws that don't care how old the perpetrator is who breaks them, or about the age of the victim; we helped him look up suitable punishments according to the parameters of the law as well as who was entitled to administer said punishment," said Lee, getting the conversation back on track. "In other words, we made sure what he did to you was one hundred percent legal and above board."

"It needed to be something that utilized your own magic rather than his as we all knew you three tattletales would go run right to the adults about it. And right or wrong, they'd be hot to trot to blame him and probably punish him with something worse than what they think you got."

"And what do you know. We were right on the galleon with that prediction. How long did it take you to go crying to the Professor here? Twenty minutes? An hour?"

"This spell fit the bill nicely. If you weren't guilty, it would've done nothing to you. All it required was that you admit your guilt in front of impartial witnesses and that he know whether or not you had participated in defrauding him knowingly."

"Or if someone was paying you from his accounts without your knowledge. Your confrontation with him in the library answered that question loud and clear," Fred smirked.

"And yes. We were there in the library. Hiding in the stacks so to speak because we always try to be close at hand when Harrikins is out of his rooms but not in a class. Because unlike the three of you. And her," Lee said jerking a thumb towards Professor McGonagal listening to them in clear shock. "We care about Harry and want him to be safe. We heard your confessions loud and clear."

George nodded. "Seeing as how you have the marks for all the world to see, you can't now deny you did admit your guilt in front of witnesses."

"They wouldn't be there if you hadn't. As the magic can't be activated without your free admission of guilt," explained Lee.

"We'd already worked out what would be your punishment if it turned out you knew exactly what was going on and had agreed to the commitment of said crimes of your own free will." Fred admitted sparing his brother and sister a look of total disgust. "School rumor mill says he gave you three chances to alter your story and we know that's true because we heard him personally. But you insisted he give you back access to his vaults so you could get to the money you were stealing from him."

"Ginny, you didn't even didn't even deny stealing from your own dorm mates as well as from Harry's trunk that time he came for a visit. In fact, you admitted you stole from his trunk when he came for that visit before you ever came here as a student. The three of you are so used to stealing from him you think it's your right to do so."

"He was entitled, under the old laws, to punish you three, which keeps it out of the public eye and off the front page of the Daily Prophet for which you should be grateful," announced George. "Not that you three have the good sense to see that," he added spitefully.

Fred sighed and said, "If we had our way about it, we'd drag you all through the mud in every manner possible considering you did your level best to destroy him just because you don't think he deserves either his wealth or his fame."

"What is it I have heard you say so many times now, Ronnie? Oh Yeah. _No stupid orphan should be richer than a pureblood. No blasted orphan should be so famous. No bloody orphan should have such strong magic._ "

"But what you forget Ronnie is exactly how he became said orphan. He didn't ask the Dark Wanker to attack his home that night. He didn't ask him to kill his Mum and Da."

"And the Dark Wanker didn't have to kill them at all. He could've knocked them out while he took care of Harrikins if taking care of Harrikins was truly the only reason he was there. But he killed them because that's what he does. And then he tried to commit infanticide. And it backfired on him."

"Who knows? Maybe the universe has a quota on how many people one person gets to kill. And he exceeded his quota for the year or something."

"But the point here is, Harry didn't ask to become an orphan just so you could have someone to be jealous of. And he certainly didn't ask to have the three of you trying to kill him as well as that Dark Wanker."

Lee sneered as Ron opened his mouth to rebut his brothers words. "Don't even deny you've been trying to kill him. That rune on your forehead tells everyone what a lie that is, Ronald. You tried to kill him by your own hand by shoving him in the back so he'd fall head first down a tunnel neither of you knew what was at the end of. That's attempted murder, Ronald."

"So we helped him to learn the spell and practice calling you out to where you'd admit your guilt in front of witnesses. You played right into his hands because you thought he was stupid and so blindly desperate for friends, he'd take any weasel in hen feathers as a friend no matter how much they stole from him," sneered George.

"Not even Percy is as pathetic as you three," concluded Fred. The twins, Lee and their girlfriends gathered their belongings and left the Great Hall together, the trio of misfortune forgotten as they decided to go find Harry and see if he wanted to hang out with them until time for classes.

As they left the room, Minerva said, "So it seems the three of you left some things out of your story to me as to how you came to bear such awful marks. Save it, Mr. Weasely. You've embarrassed me enough this morning. Never mind thinking up new lies now, Ms. Granger. The twins may be troublemakers but they aren't liars. They don't even lie to get themselves out of trouble when they know damn well I'm only guessing as to their guilt. So there's no way I'll believe they lied to me this morning when they didn't even take part in what happened to you three." Hermione shifted uncomfortably while Ron and Ginny flushed. All three of them knew the twins didn't lie when they got caught pulling a prank.

"Harry did do this to us though," Ginny mumbled looking down at her hands feeling embarrassed now that they'd been exposed to everyone in the hall. She could already hear the whispers as people began sharing what the twins had said to others who hadn't heard them.

"Professor Babbling wants a closer look at those marks. Maybe she can figure out how to go about removing them from your faces. I'm sure Professor Flitwick will be in his personal library this afternoon looking up the dark curse Mr. Potter inflicted on you. And when he returns, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will get Severus to working on how to remove it as well. After all, he's our expert in things of a dark nature such as this clearly is."

The trio smirked to each other thinking how easy she was to fool. They knew what Harry had told them about their marks but they wanted him to pay for his actions. Nor did they care if the marks were justified or not. All they cared about was themselves. And these marks so prominently displayed on their faces weren't in their best interests. So they wanted them gone and the person who caused them to be there, punished for his audacity. Besides, they all felt it had been dark magic also and they knew the Professors would be upset with Potter for using it on them.

Hermione believed she was better than Harry because she was smarter. Everyone said so. All of her life people had been telling her how smart she was. Professor Dumbledore even told her he was hiring her because she was smarter than Harry was and could provide him with the information he'd otherwise be unable to find. What he hadn't said was that he was hiring her because he knew she was an information whore and would look up anything he told her to and then force Harry to learn what he thought the boy needed to know for whatever scheme he'd cooked up that year while keeping Harry from learning information on his own that Dumbledore didn't want him to learn. Just because she was greedy when it came to books and the knowledge contained within them. Any books she saw in his hands, if she hadn't placed it there personally, she'd take away from him claiming she needed to read it as she hadn't yet. Even if she had.

Ginny believed she was better than Harry because she had been told by her mother and by Professor Dumbledore she was his saving grace. Because she came from a purely light orientated family. So did he actually but Ginny ignored that because Professor Dumbledore told her he had been cursed by a Dark Lord and that would exert an influence over him tainting his light with the shadows of the dark. It'd be her place to help him remain true to his light orientation. That Harry's innate magic was actually lighter in orientation than her own wasn't something she was aware of or would believe if she was told. Nor was Harry in any danger of falling into the darkness so easily as she had when she'd been writing in a curse diary for a good year. But she didn't believe that either because Professor Dumbledore told her, her light magic was so strong, it had naturally fought and defeated the dark influence of the book. Never mind that she damn near died because she couldn't fight it's influence at all.

And Ronald believed he was Harry's superior by right of birth. He was a pureblood. Plain and simple. That meant he outranked Harry no matter how rich or famous the prat was. And having been raised in the magical world, of course he was superior to Harry James Potter. Harry was only a half blood. Rich yes. Entitled to a seat on the Wizengamot when he came of age as well. But that didn't mean he out ranked Ron. Ron was a pureblood.

It disgusted them last evening when they had found they couldn't openly lie as they usually did. They'd skipped dinner as none of them wanted to face a hall full of people staring at them and asking questions before they got their stories down pat. By working together, they found they could imply things that weren't true if they were careful enough not to set off the runes. It'd taken them some time to work out exactly what would trigger the runes from what wouldn't and they'd been shocked by how the runes reacted to their thoughts and words. But eventually they'd worked out a story they could safely tell people without too much difficulty.

The Professor was such an easy mark for them, it had worked like a breeze when they went to her office that morning. Especially where Hermione was concerned because Minerva fancied she saw herself in Hermione. And Hermione had had a lot of practice lying by inference and omission these last four years. After all, it wasn't like she could or even would tell her parents the truth about attending school at Hogwarts. They might decide the school was too dangerous for their little girl and pull her out regardless of her wishes in the matter. She was the spoilt only child of two distinct generations. Not to mention she had a feeling none of her adults would approve of her school job. But what they didn't know, they couldn't disapprove or stop. So she'd gotten very good at lying.

So when they had gone to the Professor sobbing, angry and clearly upset, which hadn't been hard since the girls had just found they really couldn't disguise their new adornments in any manner, to tell their broken tale of how Harry had hurt them again, it hadn't surprised them when she'd filled in the blanks of their tale herself. She always believed them. No matter what they told her Harry had done. Even when common sense and a little bit of thought should've told her he couldn't possibly have done what they were claiming. For that reason, Hermione never felt guilty about lying to her. She was a teacher. If she couldn't use her brain enough to catch them in an obvious lie than she deserved to be lied to. Even so, by the time they had left her office, their faces, where the runes sat, were swollen and red. They'd needed to wait out the swelling before they dared show their faces in such a public place as the Great Hall. Which was why they'd missed Professor Snape telling her off and leaving right before they'd entered.

None of them noticed their cheeks were beginning to swell yet again as the marks began to react to their thoughts. In just a single evening, they'd gotten so used to feeling their faces swelling the feeling had already been relegated to the back of their minds. Harry had warned them the degree of punishment would increase as time went on and they continued to behave badly towards himself. But as usual they discounted that as just wishful thinking on his part. He'd warned them they'd no longer be able to act against him in word, deed or thought. That meant the marks would react even when they were only thinking of lying. They were just so used to having everything go their way when matters involved Harry, they hadn't yet stopped to think what his words to them might mean or realize he'd told them the truth about what he'd done to them. No longer would they be allowed to get away with betraying him. Period.

They rose from their seats and quietly walked behind their Head of House carefully concealing their smirks behind falsely upset faces. Well, they weren't false really. They were upset over having been marked like this and told they were basically nothing more than slaves to that brat's will. It was embarrassing but if Harry ended up taking most the scorn, how did they lose by that? He had, after all, cut them off from their funding and, from his speech yesterday, he had made it clear both Ron and Ginny's educations hung by his whim. He could have both of them expelled simply by refusing to make their next tuition payment and there was nothing they could do about it.

Molly and Arthur couldn't afford to pay their tuition which is why they'd considered not sending either one to Hogwarts at all. Molly's Aunt had offered to cover the tuition for Ginny but she wanted to send her to some foreign finishing school for ladies of quality. Muriel had sworn Ginny had a better chance of landing an affluent husband if she learned to be more ladylike and refined. Learned what a lady of quality was supposed to know and be good at doing.

As for Ron, well Molly had been teaching him at the kitchen table. They'd figured to continue that until the older boys could help them cover a tuition to a less expensive school that would teach him a trade so he could make a living for himself when he grew up. But then Professor Dumbledore had visited and told them about the scholarships being offered drawn off the interest earned from the Potter inheritance vaults. So they got to come here after all.

None of them had bothered to stop and think for a minute that Potter had never agree to it as he should since it was his inheritance being used to fund it. After all, he was still locked away in the muggle world completely ignorant of the existence of the magical world when Professor Dumbledore had come to them with news of the fund. And magical guardians did not have the right to use their wards inheritance as funding for a scholarship program they wanted to offer. Especially when only two children were to ever receive said scholarship.

All any of them could see was that now, after four years of attending Hogwarts that brat was threatening to pull his backing away from them. Just because they were making him do things he didn't want to do. Things that would remind the public he was their chosen hero and so were in his best interest to do.

Well, he wouldn't get away with it. They'd ruin him from behind the scenes. Their cheeks swelled up more and small cracks were beginning to form as the skin was stretched too tightly. And they could do it. They knew they could because they'd been doing it for years. He said nothing about leading others to the conclusion they wished them to draw and letting them do the actual bad mouthing of him for them. Except he had.

Just because they had forgotten exactly what he had told them about the marks didn't mean Magic had. Magic knew what her user had declared as a punishable offence and what wasn't. And Magic would punish these users of her gift as they deserved.

While the teenagers had been understandably upset, Magic was filling the role of judge, jury and executioner. Because Magic was fair but impartial. Harry had named the crimes he wanted them judged for. Their own hearts and minds let magic see they were indeed guilty and so she had judged them as such. And Harry had set the terms of their punishment and it's duration. Magic would see to the execution.

So when Professor Babbling asked how they came to be marked while Madam Pomfrey, Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick used their own magic to examine the marks, the trio gave the gathering the same broken story word for word they had told Professor McGonagal this morning when they found they couldn't conceal the marks. Ginny even had her powder compact in hand in case the female teachers wanted to see the marks couldn't be concealed. They'd practiced it more since they had run to Professor McGonagal that morning but it was still the same exact story. The implied lies were tripping off their tongues but slowly; one by one they each began to choke and cough until none of them could speak and the implied lies had their faces, where the runes were, swollen and seeping a clear pus like fluid much like blisters do when you lance them.

"See?' said Minerva looking at her colleagues but gesturing towards the three teens. "It has to be Dark Magic. Nothing else would still be active and cause the injuries to grow worse like this does. We all know injuries cause by dark magic take longer to heal because the dark magic keeps the wounds fresh."

While Professor Sprout genuinely wanted to find a way to help the trio, Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey were more concerned with studying the marks. Madam Pomfrey wanted to see if she could discover what if any side effects they might have on the health of the three. But Flitwick was only concerned with the novelty of the marks and the magic behind them. "How ingenious Magic is," he squeaked nearly vibrating with joy.

Ignoring Minerva, Professor Sinistra narrowed her eyes and waited for the spasms to pass and the three to focus on the teachers again before she said, "It seems Mr. Potter took your habit of lying into account when he punished you. Why don't you try again? Perhaps with the truth this time? Unless you'd like those marks to swell up permanently. Then you truly will be deformed. Do you like the shedding of blood that much? Because I'm sure all you need to do is lie to us for a few more days and you'll be shedding buckets of it."

Minerva turned to her and in a shocked voice said, "What do you mean lying, Aurora? That's the same story they told me this morning when they came to see if I knew how to remove the disfigurement for them. As if I'd have any idea how to undo something so dark as this," she sniped.

Sinistra ignored the comment about the marks being dark in nature since she really didn't know that they weren't. She chose to reply to the comment about the story the trio had told instead. "Exactly. If they were telling the truth, their story would have altered just a little bit. The highlights would've been the same but the little things would've changed. But these three practiced that story right down to the smooth pass off from one to the next as a spasm would over take the current speaker."

Professor Vector bobbed her head explaining, "They were giving us a performance, Minerva. I used to spend my summers with a thespian group and I got to know when someone was performing for an audience and when they weren't. You could see the next speaker straighten up slightly as their cue to speak approached. They'd stiffen up a little right before they were due to speak or move. These three did the same thing. When the one speaking would begin to choke the next in line would take over. The one not yet speaking would look to the one next to speak when the one speaking would begin coughing as well, which only happens when a group is giving a prepared presentation. Each of them were anticipating who'd be next to speak every time the one speaking would begin coughing and choking. Performers learning their lines do it all the time. By opening night they have their roles down pat and know all the staging directions by heart so they can play their role as naturally as possible. Including using their bodies to reinforce their lines. Makes the show more believable for the audience. Body language doesn't lie but words do. They're lying."

"She's right. Those spasms weren't normal coughing spells for children coming down with a cold or any other kind of chest related problem," said Madam Pomfrey putting away her wand which made it clear she'd run a diagnostic on them as they were talking. "Nor are the marks in any manner affecting their overall health or well-being. I can find no medical reason for their faces to be swelling as they are. All they need to do is tell the truth and everything will be fine."

"And the marks reacted every time the next speaker would begin speaking, too," added Professor Flitwick. "Or I should say when the speaker began to lie, the marks would react until the speaker was stopped by a coughing fit. And this isn't dark magic, Minerva. It's behavior modification via Magic herself. Parents use behavior modifying magic on their children all the time."

Professor Babbling said, "And when they were no longer speaking, it would begin to slowly fade until said individual began to lie again. Which indicates Filius is correct. The mark is a monitor that will slowly, over time, act as a correctional tool to train them into better behavior. You might say Mr. Potter has taken responsibility for the trio in the wrong doing he perceives them to have committed against him."

"He has no right," groused Hermione at the same time as Professor McGonagal whined, "But to use dark magic against them. . .".

"It's not dark magic," snapped Poppy, irritated with the Scottish woman and tired of her insistence that anything involving Mr. Potter's magic had to be dark in nature. Unlike her colleague, Professor Sinistra, she knew there was no dark magic involved here. Her diagnostic would have told her if there had been. Not that Professor Sinistra actually believed there was any either.

"But what else could it be, Poppy. It has to be dark magic."

Poppy shook her head and sighed. "I was scanning for dark magic and I found not a single bit of it in them or in the marks they bear. Not only that, but the only magic anywhere near them right now is their own."

Minerva blinked and muttered, "But. . .that can't be right. Mr. Potter put that mark on them. I'm sure they aren't lying about that. Even Severus said he did it. And Severus saw him do it but did nothing because they are all Gryffindors." It was clear to everyone she was more than a little bit upset with the Potions Master for not stopping Harry before he could do this to her students.

"As for him having no right, I'd say he had every right. They gave him that right when they took his coin for their interactions with or on his behalf and then betrayed his trust. By taking his coin, they named him their patron. By betraying him, they reneged on their agreement and so it was his right to punish them. As it is with any patron and their vassals," said Sinistra.

Minerva opened her mouth to object but was cut off by a new voice interrupting the budding argument amongst the teachers. Irma Pince responded to Minerva's complaint and maligning of Severus. "No Ma'am. Professor Snape did nothing because Mr. Potter was within his rights, as Professor Sinistra has just stated. Mr. Potter called upon the old laws and customs which are still on the books. Professor Snape did nothing because he had no authority to intervene. It was a matter of wrong doing between the four of them." Madam Pince had come into the hall for breakfast so quietly no one had even noticed her arrival. It was unusual for her to come to the Hall for her meals but she had a feeling these three would somehow try and turn things against Mr. Potter when he had acted within the law according to his rights and his station in their world. And though he had told them they would no longer be allowed to lie or slander him in thought word or deed, that didn't mean they wouldn't find a way to do it anyhow.

The two Weaselys might be purebloods but Madam Pince knew their family history. Probably better than they did. She knew the family was poor for a reason that had nothing to do with the earning power of the family. After all, the Father worked at the Ministry. His oldest son was a Curse Breaker for Gringott's. The second oldest worked on a Dragon Preserve. The third oldest was working in the Ministry as well. All good high paying jobs that should see the family financially secure if not wealthy. Yet they were poverty stricken. No, their poverty had nothing to do with their earning power. They were poor because they were disgraced and in their disgrace, the family line was cursed to never be prosperous so long as they were without the necessary honor to admit their wrongdoing. It had been proven to be true yet again with these two Weasely children. The family had no honor. And now they had a second curse for their dishonorable nature. Luckily this curse was locked onto a specific person and wouldn't carry down to their offspring. Unfortunately, the family was also cursed to procreate in abundance so chances were good they would remain around for a good long time to come. And thanks to people like Albus, chances were good they'd still be able to marry their offspring off into respectable families tarnishing them as well and dragging them down into poverty with them.

As for the Granger girl, she might be highly intelligent but she was a first generation witch who refuses to learn the rules of this society. In no way, was she Mr. Potter's equal any more than the other two were. He outclassed all three of them combined. If he had chosen to press charges against them, all three would have found themselves not only expelled from Hogwarts but likely as not in Azkaban. Well, Ms. Granger might have just been sent through the veil as a witch their world didn't need. Intelligent or not, she'd stood there in front of everyone and admitted she was a bought and paid for backstabbing thief who was actively trying to get her patron killed. At the very least, everyone in the magical world would've heard the story of how they had each betrayed Harry Potter and the magical society would've condemned them all for doing so. In any case, a public trial would've greatly helped He Who Must Not Be Named's cause as it would've highlighted exactly the reason he and his followers were so against muggleborns and those who supported them.

She looked at the triad in disgust and quietly said, "These three have wronged Mr. Potter repeatedly since they've known him. They've done so with full knowledge of what they were doing and why it was not only morally wrong but legally wrong. He even gave them warnings that he knew of their actions so they could desist from them. Promise not to engage in such behavior again. They chose not to heed those warnings. Because they wanted the key to his school vault back. Just as they ignored the opportunities he gave them yesterday to admit to their wrongdoing and agree to change their ways on their own. Nor is ignorance on their part an excuse for any of them. Two of them were raised in this world and the other has read many a law and customs book from my shelves. They knew full well what they were doing in their actions regarding Mr. Potter. They knew but they didn't care. Because you and the Headmaster let them get away with it. So they figured he had no right to complain." She looked at Professor McGonagal calmly while still managing to convey deep disappointment and disgust. It was a look many others had tried to imitate but one that only she could pull off .

"Even in the muggle world it is wrong to take coin to set someone up to be murdered. Just as it is wrong to try and take the life of another personally. No matter where said coin comes from. But especially when the reason you are doing it is to get all their money and riches for yourself. Yet they chose to not only do it once, they did it multiple times. And even as they were setting up his death each and every year they have attended this school, they've had your full compliance in their actions. They knew full well the coin they were receiving as payment for their actions and words against him was coming from his vaults without his knowledge. That makes them nothing more than paid assassins and thieves. Which is illegal no matter which world you call home."

"But by taking part in this farce, Ms. Granger has, if this becomes known outside the Castle Walls, set back the Light's Cause by quite a bit as this is exactly what the Dark has been saying about the muggleborn in our society and the danger they represent. You'd better hope none of the children who were present in the library has notified the press as of yet of what transpired. Otherwise, there is likely to be a riot calling for her blood. And it won't be only the dark side of our world calling for her head on a platter either. Quite a few on the Light side will be as well. Because they've fought long and hard to convince the other side the muggleborns are no worse than the rest of us. They've fought and bled and lost family members defending muggleborns like her. Only to have her proving the dark side right and pissing on the graves of their loved ones."

"Oh dear," murmured Pomona Sprout as the other teachers adopted grim looks. All of them knew that was nothing but the simple truth.

"But that wasn't enough for them. They weren't satisfied with merely stealing from him and trying to kill him. No. They had to walk these halls and assassinate his character behind his back. All the while they would be smiling at him and filling his ears with more lies about how they were his friends. Telling him how he could trust them. Tell them his secrets and what his plans were. Spying on him and going through his things every chance they got. Just so they could run to you or the Headmaster with every little thing they learned. Even if they had to make it up first. All the while they're leading him into a trap they hoped he wouldn't survive but only after he rescued whomever or whatever they thought deserved to be saved. They are the worst excuses for people I've ever met and you support them in their behavior every time you punish him for what they did and said. What is worse, by doing so, you tell all the rest of our students the lies they tell are truth. So even when he defends himself, no one believes. Is it any wonder he quit trying? Is it any wonder he doesn't trust you, Minerva McGonagal? When you've done so very much to show him he can't trust you."

"As Mr. Potter pointed out, he could've had them hauled up before the Wizengamot on charges of everything from extortion and thievery to attempted murder. They would've gone to Azkaban at the very least if he had done so because you know the Minister will do whatever he thinks will make the most people the happiest. Especially when the one pressing the charges is someone far more popular with the people than he will ever be. And you well know we don't have an age limit on who can be sent to Azkaban."

"But he chose to deal with them here, where their punishment can be kept contained, if you will. They are still young enough to learn from their mistakes if given a strong enough motivator to do so but Azkaban would never have given them that chance. He has though. Now the rest is up to them. Not that I personally think they are worth the effort. Once a backstabbing betrayer always a backstabbing betrayer."

"Well, I guess he has, yes. But still it wasn't his place, Irma. If he had a problem with them, he should've come to me about it. I'm his Head of House. And theirs."

"Which is exactly why she'd be the last person he'd go to," muttered Flitwick quietly to Pomona who nodded. She didn't like Mr. Potter any more than Minerva did but that was mainly due to the fiasco of last year's Tournament and how the entire thing had resolved only to be about his involvement while her own student who had died was overlooked and forgotten about. Still, even she knew Potter going to Minerva with a complaint about those three would be a pointless exercise.

Irma Pince ignored her interruption. "As for the coughing spasms, he warned them not to betray him in thought, word, deed, action or even by omission. Yet they stood right here and attempted to do exactly that. He specifically told them they would choke on any lie they tried to tell about him or in regards to him. So they even knew the punishment they'd receive for attempting it. And he told them exactly what he requires from them from now until the marks vanish. Obedience, Truthfulness and Loyalty."

"I take it you also witnessed this marking, Inez?" asked Professor Septima Vector. The Arithemancy Professor found the whole matter intriguing and a nice break from the norm. She mainly only interrupted to keep Minerva from focusing on the 'Obedience' part of Potter's expectations but she was curious as well.

She nodded. "Yes, I was just coming up behind them intending to kick these three out for being loud, obnoxious and disturbing the students, including Mr. Potter, who were trying to study. Mr. Potter spends a great deal of his free time in the library now as he has nothing better to do with himself. He seems to enjoy it and often I find myself discussing the great works with him of both the magical and the muggle world. He is surprisingly well read for one his age."

"So when he cast the spell, did you hear the name of it?" asked Professor Flitwick.

"He didn't incant it, Filius. He simply held out his hand and called upon Mother Gaia as he summoned his magic. His magic was met by their own magic and the two mixed and mingled for a few seconds before separating and returning back to their host. There was nothing to hear. A few seconds after it was called forth, the magic would separate, the mark would begin to appear and grow darker as their own magic weighed their guilt."

She turned her attention back onto Minerva as she said, "And I mean exactly that, Minerva. Their guilt was weighed by their own magic. Not by Mr. Potter's. His magic never touched them. The entire time he was calling on magic to judge the two Weasely children, Fawkes was sitting on his shoulder. Fawkes was even singing as he called for judgment on the Weasely girl. That should tell you something about the nature of the spell he used."

"The spell was one that punishes by degree of guilt felt by the accused in their heart, mind, body and soul. How dark their marks are, depends on how guilty they _know_ themselves to be of the charges he leveled against them. Here." She dropped a thin book onto the table. "This will tell you all about the spell used and the law that gave Mr. Potter the right to use it." Then taking another swig of her tea she rose from the table and left the room. Clearly she was also on Mr. Potter's side.

Minerva picked up the thin book, deep in thought while silently appraising the three, now squirming, students she'd felt such deep sympathy for only minutes earlier. "What have you three done?" she whispered as she sat back down in her seat, her meal forgotten as her world rocked on it's axis. She felt defeated and didn't bother to hide her disappointment as she tried to wrap her mind around what she'd heard and learned this morning. "Go. Return to your places and when you decide you're ready to tell me the truth, you know where to find me."

All three opened their mouths to protest but she made it clear she wasn't listening. For the first time since they'd come there and been sorted into Gryffindor House their Professor didn't want to speak to them. That shocked them far more than anything else. A wave of a wand sent all three one by one back over to the Gryffindor table though who cast the spell wasn't really clear since all of the staff had their wands in hand except for the Deputy Headmistress who had dismissed them from her presence. In truth, three different teachers had each selected one member of the trio and sent that particular student back to a free place at the Gryffindor table. None of them would allow their colleague to be browbeaten by their students any further this morning. The staff had done a good enough job of it for the time being.

When the trio tried to get back on their feet each of them found they couldn't do so. So sullenly, recognizing they had no recourse, they began to eat their meal. Each trying in their own way to come up with a way they could get back into the good graces of their favorite Professor while laying the blame for their earlier lie on Harry whom they knew she hated.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. This is the second half of the Breakfast chapter. If you can add the word counts together you can see it reached around 15,000 words altogether and that was just too long for a single chapter. But this should be a more manageable length for you. Hope you enjoy it.**


	19. Shoes on the Other Foot Now

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Just a reminder here: I like canon Hermione and Ron though I don't really like Ginny. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why.**

 **However this isn't canon and you won't find the canon characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rowlings did. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Nineteen: Shoe's on the other foot now

As the day went by, the story of the marks quickly spread amongst the students. The scene in the Great Hall, added to what the students from the library were willing to share, made it a certainty that every Hogwarts student knew exactly what Mr. Potter had done now and how it involved his supposedly two best friends and chosen girlfriend. Harry Potter and the Gryffindor Trio had always been newsworthy in Hogwarts Halls and this story involved all four of them. So of course it was the only thing being talked about between classes. It was the scandal of the year and school had only been in session for two weeks! Those Ravenclaws and Slytherins who had actually witnessed the confrontation became the most popular kids in the school that day. Everyone who hadn't been present wanted to talk to them. To hear for themselves what had taken place and how the trio came to be marked.

The trio found the isolationism they had been so delighted to subject Harry to in previous years wasn't so much fun when it was directed at themselves. Not that they were as isolated as they'd forced him to be since they did have each other for companionship while he had been forced to grovel to them for conversation and companionship. Also they still lived in the Gryffindor Tower so they still had their dorm and tower mates to interact with even if said people weren't talking to them or actively trying to interact with them. Nor were they anywhere near as used to dealing with the isolation as Harry was. It was easier for Ron and Hermione because they were in the same level and shared many of their classes as well as their free periods.

But Ginerva, who had found her nickname of Ginny was no longer being used by anyone except for Ron and Hermione, had things much harder since she was a grade lower than the other two. She didn't have any classes with them and so she was getting a much truer taste of the medicine she'd gleefully helped the others force feed Harry for the last three years. All because he wouldn't just accept her presence at his side so she could flaunt herself to her peers as his future wife.

But then she was also the only one of the trio a boy had died trying to help as her fellow students were happy to tell her. Repeatedly. And she was the only one with a clear life debt owing to the boy she had willingly wronged so very many times. Well, Harry had said Hermione owed him a double debt but Hermione disagreed with that saying he hadn't saved her from the troll. Ron had. And with the basilisk, he wasn't even there when she'd been petrified so how could she owe him a debt for that? She didn't, and wouldn't, understand that by killing the basilisk when he had, he'd kept the school from being closed and all the students returned to their homes. If that had happened, chances were good Hermione would never have received the mandrake potion to depetrify herself and that was why she owed him a debt. Even if the Ministry had gotten a dose of it to her, the muggles wouldn't have known how to use it correctly. So she would've either remained a statue forever or she would've died from the misuse of the potion. By defeating it when he did, Harry had kept the school open and her in the school infirmary where she could be treated as soon as Madam Pomfrey had the potion to do so.

To the student body, while the claim of a life debt against Granger to Harry Potter wasn't so clear, the one standing between Ginerva Weasely and Harry, was easily understood. So to show Harry their support, the students gleefully chose to ostracize her and have nothing to do with her. Unlike Harry though, she wasn't used to being thought poorly of and being isolated in a crowd. She was the spoilt only daughter of a large family. Harry had a lifetime of training and conditioning by which to weather the shunning. She hadn't even suffered a day of such treatment before. The only thing she had to compare it to was being sent to a corner for an hour when her Mum caught her breaking a rule and none of her brothers could be blamed or used as a distraction. But this treatment wouldn't end in an hour as that did.

Nor could they get anyone to speak to them or do things with or for them any longer. All three were referred to by their last names by the teachers, which was normal except for the cold tone of voice in which the name was said and by their full given name by their peers when a peer deigned to speak with them at all. Even their favorite dupe of a teacher was cold towards them now. All three believed that was only because it had been pointed out by her fellows that they'd lied to her. So they believed she would eventually get over it without them having to do anything more than give her a few saddened expressions or weepy eyes while making certain to show her every wrong thing Harry said or did. Especially if said wrong involved them. The only problem with that was Harry wasn't cooperating by doing anything at all to them. In a clear manner or otherwise.

They all noticed a clear relish for their predicament in Professor Snape's voice when he chose to address a comment or question towards them. He almost purred when he'd call on them to answer a question he knew they wouldn't be able to answer which for Ron was almost any question not involving when a mealtime was. It was well known Ron hated potions every bit as much as he hated the teacher. And that he never, but never studied for the class as studying only reminded him he had to take the class whether he wanted to or not.

But Professor Snape, who never used to call on Ron at all, even less often than he ever called on Hermione, was doing calling on him a lot these days. He seemed to have taken Potter's side against them. Which to their minds only confirmed what Potter had done had been dark magic since everyone knew Professor Snape was nothing but a Death Eater traitor.

Hermione had told her friends Fawkes hadn't actually been there at all. It was just a ruse Harry had employed to fool everyone into thinking he wasn't using dark magic on them when he was. Ginny really wanted to learn how Harry had conjured such a realistic image of Fawkes so she could do it too. She thought her reputation as a light witch would soar if she could be seen with Fawkes perched on her shoulder. Surely then Potter would be forced to choose her as his future wife? None of her peers could contest her place at his side then.

But as for Potions class, even Ron quickly figured out he had better at least try to answer those questions as fully as possible. Hermione quickly came to realize she needed to answer his questions without sounding like she was reading the answer from her textbooks but as Ron hardly ever bothered to read his books that wasn't such a problem for him as it was her. His problem was that he honestly didn't know the answers at all.

And the questions were _hard_. He even asked a few Hermione, for all her bragging and studying, was unable to answer. What surprised everyone was when he then turned to Harry with the same question and got an answer. A correct and concise answer. But Snape had seen the magnitude of Potion related books in Harry's rooms over the last few days when he'd gone to check up on the boy and to inform him of what was happening in the school that he might not be aware of. He knew the boy had put a lot of time, effort and study into the field. Not to mention Harry had all but admitted it after the scene in the library. He said he hadn't had time to brew any Throat Soother as of yet for himself, which told Severus, Potter brewed a lot of potions for his own use outside of the classroom.

So he knew all those questions Hermione failed to answer were things Harry had gleaned from the more obscure and esoteric of those books in his rooms which he had noted now had a bathroom attached as well as a small sitting area with a table large enough for eating at and his study room where the books were. No wonder the boy no longer asked for an escort to a free shower chamber. He had no need of one. Clearly the Castle was trying to make the boy comfortable in his chosen rooms. He wouldn't be at all surprised to go in there and find one of the doors he'd noticed led to a lab similar to the one in his quarters. No wonder the boy didn't want to go back to the tower. He literally had a better deal in the isolation rooms. Minerva, though she didn't know it, had been right. Potter had his own private rooms in the castle now. He had to wonder just how long this isolation chamber had been a private apartment. And if when Potter was finished with it, would it go back to an isolation chamber?

Some of the class, the smart ones anyway, were even taking notes on the questions he'd ask that Potter would answer. The only good news about Potions class to the trio was, unlike how he had treated Harry in his classes, he didn't assign them detentions with himself. Instead, all the detentions he assigned them were with Mr. Filch for Ron, to the kitchens for Hermione where the house-elves made her life difficult simply because she wouldn't shut up about freeing them, or to Hagrid for Ginny.

Severus knew Ginny had an abhorrence for Hagrid's animals and absolutely hated getting dirty and smelly, both of which were almost guaranteed during detentions Hagrid oversaw. Added to her misery was the fact that Hagrid was _Harry's_ friend and Severus had made certain the gentle half-giant knew what the trio had been doing to his friend all these years they had claimed to be his friends. As well as how they'd tried to lay all the blame for the werewolf thing on his shoulders for them being out on the grounds that night. Hagrid knew beyond any doubt the only reason Harry, Ron and Hermione had been there was because Hermione badgered the boys into it. To say Hagrid wasn't happy with them was an understatement. Therefore, he would make certain all of Ms. Weasely's detentions with him were sheer misery for her. She hadn't been a part of that thing with the werewolf but she had been lying to and about Harry as well as stealing from him behind his back and that was enough for Hagrid.

Ron hated anything that smacked of actually performing manual labor which Mr. Filch specialized in. Mr. Filch, like Hagrid, considered himself to be Harry's friend. Mainly because Harry had gone to the trouble of brewing an ointment for his joints that would reduce the swelling which gave him such a hard time and made it almost impossible for him to get around these days. He'd also gotten some muggle arthritis over the counter drugs, analyzed them and then created some potions based off them for him. That made it easier for the old nearly magicless man to do his job. And he had bought Mrs. Norris many a can of sardines and other finger sized fish over the years. When she had a bad spot of dry skin that was causing her to lose her hair, he had found a topical lotion for her to moisturize her skin. So Mr. Filch considered himself a friend of Harry Potter just as Hagrid did.

Between them the Triad lost far more points for Gryffindor than Harry and the twins ever had in all the years they'd had been students combined. But that was mainly because Professor Snape wasn't the only teacher docking points from them over trifling matters. The rest of the teachers made it very clear they had little to no use or respect for them any more. Hearing they were accused and admitted thieves disabused the staff of any notions they might have had over their innocence. And once Professor Babbling had informed everyone of what the rune on Ron's forehead was, they found there was no sympathy for them anywhere. A Betrayer's Rune as a part of a judgement call wasn't easily come by. Nor could it be gained by mistake. Potter could've called for it but if Ron wasn't guilty, the rune wouldn't have formed. Therefore, he was guilty.

Only Minerva spared them any sympathy and that was only because she was still having a hard time understanding they deserved the marks they wore. To her, they were just children. Some of her favorite children at that. And Mr. Potter hadn't followed protocol. It was her place to punish her students when they misbehaved. Not his. Yet he had and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't even punish him because her fellow staff members would turn on her if she tried to.

Her mind kept justifying their behavior with past stories they'd told of things Harry had done to them. Stories she wouldn't admit mightn't have been the truth any more than the one they'd told her about how they got the marks was. She couldn't help denying they were the thieves and betrayers those runes proclaimed them to be. They were children and while children could do bad things, you simply sat them down, explained why what they'd done was bad, administered a suitable punishment and moved on. You didn't give them such a long lasting punishment such as this. This was a punishment for an adult but they weren't adults.

It didn't stop her being cold and absolutely correct in her dealings with them, though. They had lied to her and been caught in the act by her fellow staff. But she just couldn't wrap her head around the idea they truly weren't the children she thought they were. She still believed they were good children. Good children who had done something wrong. But still good children overall.

Ron and Ginny, who had replaced Oliver and Harry on the Gryffindor quiditch team, found themselves kicked off the team with no real explanation. But since this was virtually the same thing that had happened to Harry - twice - the team felt no remorse for their decision now. The pair knew the twins were behind their expulsion from the team but there was nothing they could do about it since Professor McGonagal wasn't sparing them any time these days. She was angry with them and letting them know it.

But for the team, they'd truly believed Harry had acted dishonorably when they'd expelled him from the team because Ronald Weasely, with Hermione Granger ardently backing him up, had told them he had. Now it turned out the pair had been lying to them because Ron and Ginerva wanted on the team too and hadn't been given a place. Ron wanted to play as the Keeper while Ginerva had wanted to be the Seeker. Something she couldn't be so long as Harry held the position. It was they who had no honor. It was they who'd acted dishonorably and brought shame upon the House of Gryffindor. The team, well really all of Gryffindor Tower, wanted vengeance and this was just about the only way they could get it since their Head of House was still sympathetic towards the unholy trio. They knew they wouldn't be allowed to expel the three from the tower as she'd allowed them to do to Harry. All because she didn't think Harry fit his Father's legacy well enough. They knew that now. Nor would she allow any in-house punishments on them as she claimed they'd been punished enough. So this was all they could do.

Ginny had been delighted to replace Harry as Seeker and swore she was even better at the position than he'd been although everyone knew she wasn't. Harry was a natural flier and he seemed to have a sixth sense for where the snitch would be. And once it showed itself nothing the poor snitch could do would deter Harry from it's tail. He had never missed the snitch during games he played. Even when he had passed out fifty feet above the ground thanks to the dementors swarming the playing field, he'd caught the snitch during his fall from his broom. And he flew like he had been born with wings. No one could match his skill in the air and everyone in the school knew it. Despite her bragging. She claimed she was better than him because flying wasn't a natural skill for her. She had to work at it which meant when she caught the snitch and won the game, she truly had something to brag about while he didn't.

Ron had become the new Keeper when Oliver had graduated and often bragged about how great he was in the position and how he'd make professional after he graduated. Everyone knew he wouldn't and not because of the mark on his face either. He simply wasn't as good as he thought he was. Even before Harry had marked him, everyone knew the only way Ron would play professionally was if Harry bought him the spot on whichever team he played for. Either Harry directly or through Ron's flagrant use of Harry's name and fame. But now, given how he and the rest of the Unholy Trio had delighted in trashing Harry's reputation, even that was unlikely to work once the students of Hogwarts spread the word beyond the halls of the school.

Now that the team knew what they had been doing to Harry, whom the trio had bragged was their friend, they kicked them off without a moments hesitation and banned them from the field whenever there was a practice. The team even went to Professor McGonagal to see if they could prevent them from being allowed to even attend the games Gryffindor played in. She said no, of course, since they were her favored students. But that didn't stop the students and other teachers from working together to keep the trio away from the games. Professor Snape was only too happy to assign them detentions that just so happened to correspond to days and times when there was a quiditch game being played. Since they weren't on the team there was nothing stopping him from doing so as any complaint Minerva tried to make was silenced by the fact that the students didn't have a guaranteed right to attend the games whether their house was playing or not. It was understood the players wouldn't be given a detention during game time for their own house but even they could be according to the school charter and Minerva knew it.

And the three detention supervisors were only too happy to help him. They rarely attended the games anyway. Hagrid only liked to go when Harry was playing and neither Mr. Filch or the elves ever went to the games. So having a detention to supervise away from the playing field during them didn't bother them at all. Hagrid often took Ginerva into the Forest of Death to remote and semi-dangerous places where he'd have her mucking about in the mud and sludge for grubs and hard to harvest potion ingredients Professor Snape claimed to have a need for. Half of the time what she was looking for was something Harry had asked him to keep an eye out for but she didn't know that. The house elves had all sorts of disgusting kitchen duties for Hermione to perform while Mr. Filch kept Ron in the bowels of the Castle cleaning rooms and oiling old disciplining tools that were so out of date Ron didn't even know what they'd been called or how they'd been used.

Not even the uninvolved teachers had any sympathy for them once the truth of those runes made it's way through the school grapevine. Madam Pince didn't often speak up for any particular student or on a particular subject but when she did you could bet what she said was the truth and nothing but the truth. The entire hall had heard her say those marks were caused by the _bearer's_ own sense of guilt and made with their _own_ magic. And Professor Babbling, whom most of the students believed knew her Runes backwards and forwards, seemed to agree with her. And if those two women, who both knew Hermione Granger quite well due to her dedication to learning, believed Mr. Potter hadn't done anything wrong, then who were they to quibble.

Therefore, all the backstabbing attempts made by the trio to gain sympathy for themselves while painting Harry as a villain for doing such a thing as disfiguring them, backfired. It didn't help them any that the marks would tell their audience when they began lying even if the words they actually used were correct and every person in the school became adept at noticing even the smallest of inflamation around the runes. After all, Harry had said they could no longer lie about him even by omission and all the students had heard Professor Babbling say the marks were behavior monitors. Those who had worn behavior modifiers on their clothing as children or had them used at the table during meal times, explained the term to those who hadn't. So it only took a couple of days for everyone in the school to understand how the Runes worked. And despite Minerva's best efforts, not one of the students believed them to be dark magic.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. I hope this chapter is more pleasing to you, Kathryn. I tried not to do any bashing in this chapter as you are correct about the previous chapters being full of it. I do want my readers to enjoy my story. From here out, I don't think the story contains any more pure bashing. Just rightly earned punishment and self-discovery. I think.**


	20. Coming To Understand

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Just a reminder here: I like canon Hermione and Ron though I don't really like Ginny. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why.**

 **However this isn't canon and you won't find the canon characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rowlings did. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Twenty: Coming to Understand

Once she had wrapped her mind around how her favored students came to be disfigured not even Minerva would hear their excuses any longer. She'd read the booklet Irma had given her three times looking for anything that might indicate Mr. Potter hadn't had the right to mark them like that or that it was in fact a dark magic spell which she could use to prove he was more in the wrong than they. Unfortunately for her, the book made it clear he had every right.

The book made it very clear what he had done was to call for the judgement of magic itself upon them. While he had used his magic to call for justice, it had been their own magic that had read their hearts, minds, bodies and souls before causing the runes to appear on their faces. This was a concept Minerva could fully understand as she was born and bred to the magical world. She knew magic was more than simple energy but not quite sentient on it's own. It had no specific shape or form so it couldn't act without a conduit. But it was perfectly capable of making it's own decisions and choices.

Magic itself had been the arbiter and was currently the monitor of the marks. Everyone knew Magic was neither light nor dark. It simply was. In short, they had been judged by the very gift they had been born with and it had found them wanting. Therefore only they could make themselves worthy of her gift again.

Once she had finally decided the trio had been judged by Magic and not by Mr. Potter, she was able to finally begin putting it into perspective. She felt better once she realized the marks weren't permanent. The children wouldn't have to bear them for the rest of their lives. All they had to do was meet the conditions Mr. Potter had laid down for them and the marks would vanish as if they'd never been there at all. And while a friendship with Mr. Potter was most likely out of the question for them now, that was understandable. They'd done him wrong. For years now. They had to have expected him to realize it someday and when that day came surely they wouldn't have believed he'd still call them friend. However there was nothing stopping them from making new friends once those marks went away. So they still had their lives in front of them and those lives could still be good lives.

It irked her that she had to handle the situation by herself as Albus was out of the Castle more often than not these days. She really wanted his advice on how to handle the matter but he wasn't here to ask. What he was doing, she didn't know. But then it was often like that as he was a busy man. He did have three job titles plus Mr. Potter's banking matters and reputation issues to deal with. He claimed this time he was dealing with personal business but he wouldn't explain in further detail than that. Nor did she feel she had any right to inquire further. She knew a lot of people important in the world held him in high respect and often called upon him to advise them. And for him personal business could mean just about anything. But until he returned, she had no way to know how he would want the situation handled. So she had no choice but to do as she thought best.

She decided to use the incident as a real life educational tool for the rest of the student body. Since she could think of no way in which to allow the three marked children to hide their disfigurement, there honestly wasn't much else she could do. And though she could punish Mr. Potter for marking them, the mood of the school told her that wouldn't be a smart idea. Too many of the students had parents or guardians who had used behavior modifiers on them as children- she'd even undergone their usage a time or two while growing up -and completely understood that is what the marks were. The modifier would stay on the child until the acceptable behavior had become ingrained in the child. When the child had no episodes for a week or so the parents would generally remove the modifier knowing their child had learned better behavior. And those children here in the Castle who had undergone such treatment by their parents knew the marks worked the same way.

Well, parents hadn't marked the children's faces like Magic had marked these three. But still. That's what the runes were all the same. Behavior Modifiers. Meant to train a child out of a bad habit that could adversely affect their future. She had to believe Magic had chosen the placement of the runes in accordance with the crimes the children had engaged in against Mr. Potter. She didn't want to believe he'd actually choose such a prominent placement of his own accord. Yes she knew they were accused of publically trashing his reputation by spreading rumors and lying about him. But still. She couldn't quite bring herself to believe he'd think they should be humiliated quite this much.

Although Mr. Ronald Weasely would never be free of the rune on his forehead, the other marks would eventually go away when they changed their behavior and atoned for their bad acts. Once again it wasn't Mr. Potter who'd be deciding when they'd changed or atoned sufficiently since he wasn't the controlling force behind the monitor. Magic was in charge. The booklet made that clear. She had to hold onto that knowledge. The marks, except for the Betrayers Mark would go away.

But even the Betrayers Mark didn't necessarily have to ruin Mr. Weasely's life. Yes it would make things harder for him but then he was magically born and raised just as she'd been. And he should've known what was allowable conduct for a vassal and what wasn't. So he would have to learn to live with it now. Because he'd tried to kill Mr. Potter personally. And that wasn't acceptable. At all.

To make sure everyone fully understood the marks were deserved or they wouldn't be there, Minerva made copies of that little book Irma had given her about it. She personally gave a stack of reprints to each of her fellow Heads of House, explaining that since the Law of Justified Retribution was so old, a lot of the students mightn't understand what had allowed Harry to call upon it as he had. She explained she was going to set aside some class time to speak to the students about the spell and just why Mr. Potter had enacted it on the Triad but how that didn't grant them the same right as it could backfire if they called for it and just cause wasn't found. Because according to the booklet Irma had given her, Magic judged both participants and if magic found the one that had called for justice wasn't deserving of that justice, it'd punish the caller just as easily as the one the caller wanted judged. Both parties involved could also be found wanting just as easily as neither party.

Those books were handed out by all the teachers to any student who questioned either Harry's right or the marks themselves. This was one case where life itself was the best teacher possible and all of them were teachers at heart. Even Severus took a stack of the booklets though he'd already spent many hours explaining the old law to the students of his house. He'd had to do a lot of research to answer some of the questions his Slytherin were asking but he felt it was time well spent.

Still the trio, led by Hermione who just couldn't get it through her head things had really changed for them, continued to whine and complain about being disfigured and tried to turn the school against Harry in any manner they could. Which wasn't easy because every time they tried to cast blame on Harry their faces would swell telling their listeners not to believe them. But some of the students recognized Hermione as the ring leader egging the other two on and decided to try and get it through her head so they could begin learning better behavior.

The Patil twins went so far as to tell Hermione she should really consider shutting up since she was nothing but a muggleborn. The wizarding world wasn't known to be kind-hearted towards those of her birth rank who'd harmed someone of his stature.

"Of his stature?" Hermione had sneered at them. "As what? A freaky little halfblood raised every bit as muggle as myself? Oh wait. That's right. He wasn't. He was the freak of a servant his relative kept in a cupboard under the stairs. I was at least wanted by my family instead of being foisted upon them simply because there was no place else to put me. And for your information I have a much brighter future than that brain dead loser ever could." Her cheek swelled with her words of defamation.

The two Indian nationals shared a look before turning on her. Engaging in the twin speak the Weasely Twins were so well known for Padma calmly said, "If we were you,"

Parvati took over, "we'd shut up about his upbringing,"

"as continuing to spout off about that,

"can only come back to hurt you,"

"and those you think so highly of."

Parvati nodded before adding, "But by all means, don't listen to us."

"Keep running your mouth. You're good at it," smirked Padma.

"Let's see how long your current backing has your back."

"Just remember, when payment catches up to you. . ."

"And it will. . ."

"We warned you," said Padma.

Parvati sneered at the arrogant girl and said, "You think these marks are the only thing this world can do to you? You're a fool if you believe that. He's a bonafide hero, Granger. His status is independent of his birth rank. Those muggle filth he calls kinfolk may not have treated him as they should have. But that's nothing to do with you. Nor does it make you better than he is. Them, being bloodkin to him protects them from almost all forms of retribution. And believe me, there's many a person in this world who'd love to repay them for his upbringing. All they're waiting for is an indication from him that it'd be appreciated. But his surviving their upbringing and not calling for retribution upon them for it, has the people's admiration."

Padma raked Hermione from head to toe before saying, "You don't share that protection which you'd do well to begin remembering. You have this year to begin working at removing that mark from your face but all we've heard you doing is whining about how unfairly your being treated. And how no one will stand up for you and punish him for marking you. Why should we when we know you deserved it?"

"You're of the lowest socially acceptable caste and no one will appreciate what you've been doing. Even those people who oppose him because he is the last of the Potters or because he defeated the Dark Lord whom they followed, or his house is higher, or richer, than theirs will be against you if word of what you knowingly did gets out. And you, they can get to all too easily. Because there's no one protecting you, is there, Granger?"

Parvati nodded adding, "Because he's a Hero to the entire Magical world, it wouldn't surprise me to discover there are headhunters after you once word of what you did and tried to do to him gets out. And no I don't mean those muggle headhunters who go around looking for people they can make famous Faye told me about in the dorm room. These head hunters will cheerfully separate your head from your shoulders if they catch up to you once people hire them. And there are people in this society who won't even think twice about hiring them. You can damn well bet word will get out, too. There's no way something like this will stay confined to the school as your antics did."

Now Padma was nodding. "So do yourself a favor and shut your mouth before you get someone you care about killed."

Parvati nodded and said, "We, Lavender and I that is, tried to warn you not to play games with him and his reputation. We told you he was much more than you knew to our people. But you wouldn't listen to us because we're too old fashioned for you. Not muggle enough to realize how backwards our caste system is. To realize no one honors a betrothal contract any more. Not muggle enough to want to destroy our world for more rights or some such nonsense. But you should realize what you're trying to do now, and have done in the past, to Harry is exactly why the Dark Lord gets so many volunteers when he schedules another raid into the muggle world or the people hear he has targeted another family of a muggleborn. People who'd never actually join him in his crusade never for a minute think those victims didn't deserve it. No one even considers it because, for the most part, all of you try to destroy our society to one degree or another."

Cho Chang, who had stopped to wait for Padma, agreed with the twins. She told the Triad flat-out, "If you had done that to someone like him in my native country, things wouldn't have gone this far. But then in my native country, the first time you betrayed him would've also been the last. Someone in the State Department would've been watching over his funds and the person in charge of them. The first time you stole from him would've been the last time. All three of you'd be fortunate if all that happened was having your hands cut off and your tongues ripped out, the wounds sealed so new appendages couldn't be regrown for you. Of course, even death is better than what my countrymen could do to you for what you, Ginerva, have done to him. Until you three, I always felt my native people were cruel to do those things. But now I understand. You're without even a shred of decency or honor and there is no punishment too great for the likes of you."

Only a very pale Ginny had the nerve to ask what she meant and Cho told her, smirking slightly as she spoke. "You could have been named as his personal property. His slaves. Especially you since the life debt you owe him is so very clear and impossible to deny." Cho said pointing a long well manicured finger at Ginny. "You have walked around this school bragging how you own him. How he belongs to you and how he has to do whatever the three of you tell him. Merlin knows, there isn't a student here outside of the firsties that hasn't heard it more than a time or two. But reality is you belong to him. He owns you. Because you took his coin to hold yourself available to him for him when he has a need of you. But you didn't follow through on that did you? Michael Corner ring any bells for you? In my native country, that would be literally. He would literally own you for the rest of your life. The government there would hand the three of you and your relatives to him on a silver platter and there'd be nothing you could do about it. In my native country, your behavior would've doomed your entire family."

The twins nodded. "In India as well. Because magic found you guilty, there would be no questions asked."

Cho continued. "He could've given you to anyone he felt like giving you to and done as he wished with any offspring you might someday have produced. Of course, he could also have chosen to have each of you sterilized and Ronald here castrated before giving you as door prizes to someone he wished to make a deal with or appease in some manner. Because everything about a slave belongs not to them but to their master including the children and mates. And no. Those children could never inherit from his estate because they'd be a part of the estate. But that's if the master decides to let the slave have a mate at all which he doesn't have to do."

Lavender spoke up quietly from her place next to Parvati. "And all three of you would've deserved it. No one would've spoken up for you or asked for leniency. Because you took his coin and then tried to kill him to prevent him learning of your treachery. Don't bother denying that's why you were setting him up on all those end of the year events. You wanted him dead before he could learn what you were doing behind his back. You told him he owed you for the rest of your lives because he stayed under your roof for a few nights and dined at your table. But I'll bet you anything the food he ate under your roof was food he paid for. So he'd every right to eat it. I'd also hazard a guess and say the clothes on your backs are clothes he bought and paid for while he walks around in rags. What makes it worse is, I know for a fact he takes better care of his rags then you do your clothes."

Su Li, a shy, quiet Ravenclaw, who had been attracted by the size of the gathering decided to weigh in with her own opinion. "Because of him, you are receiving one of the best educations money can buy so you have a chance to make something of your futures. And what are you doing to repay him for his generosity? You, Ronald, take only the easy classes as electives and don't even bother to actually study so you can pass them with decent marks. You, Ginerva, spend all your free time daydreaming of the day you become his wife and have open access to all his vaults, property, and power. But you study nothing worthwhile. Nothing his wife will need to be adept in. He'll move in the highest societal circles. He needs a wife who can easily navigate those waters. You say you'll hold that position but from what I can see, you don't deserve it. All you'll do is disgrace him."

"And you Hermione, are no better. You tell everyone how he's your best friend and how much he cares for and about you but what have you actually done for him? When have you ever truly been worthy of the things he's done for you? When have any of you? He's put his very life on the line for all three of you and you repaid in by a knife in the back."

"In my country, you'd be dead by sunrise and your parents and brothers sterilized lest they breed any more children like yourselves." She shrugged. "Of course in my country you'd have been lucky to survive your childhood at all, Hermione Granger. The Chinese muggles don't like magic and routinely put all magic users to death when they find them. So the magical community exists in deep hiding. When they learn of a magical child born to muggles they'll sneak out and grab the child if they can. If they can't, they'll kill it to prevent the government from nosing around looking for more magical people."

The group of girls turned and left the trio standing there with their mouths hanging open and extremely grateful they were citizens of England and not China, Japan or India. Ron muttered something to that effect to Hermione and Ginny as the girls walked away to which his girls nodded quietly.

That was when Susan Bones decided to burst that bubble. She knew the law through her Aunt Amelia and knew exactly what Cho and the twins had described as a suitable punishment for them was indeed a possibility should word reach the Ministry of what they had done. She told them as much adding, "If I were you three, I'd rediscover how to pray to every deity that ever was for divine intervention. The Wizarding World loves Harry despite how every school year since he's returned to us has turned into a deadly nightmare and scandal. When this gets out, and those girls are right -it will get out-, people will be clamoring for the Ministry to do something to prove it. I do believe you're familiar with how very much our current Minister likes to be seen 'Doing Something' when things go wrong?" She titled her head at them questioningly waiting for their acknowledgment. They gulped and nodded clearly remembering how the Minister had arrested Hagrid when the Chamber was being opened and how he'd sent the dementors to patrol around the school to keep the students safe when Sirius Black was on the loose.

She nodded in return. "You need to remember there were Slytherin students in the Library when you so foolishly decided to confront him. Whatever happened to your brain that day Hermione Granger? You couldn't have been any stupider if you'd tried. Ravenclaw students were there as well. Those students heard every word that was said. Students smart enough and rich enough to own more than one dicta quill. You do know that means they caught every word that was said, right?" Again the triad gulped but this time they winced understanding what she was driving at.

"You can count yourselves lucky there weren't any Puffs in there. We'd have contacted our families before that nights dinner. And many of us don't need to bother sending an owl to do so. We have other ways of contacting our families. Those Slytherin students have highly connected, influential parents and relatives. So do most the Ravenclaws in Hogwarts these days. Heck, even a lot of us Hufflepuffs are highly connected. There's no way they haven't already sent word to their parents and guardians. Wasn't Draco Malfoy sitting at a nearby table when you had your brain's leave on The Midnight Train to Georgia without you? You can bet he sent a letter to Daddy about all this. Probably more than one. You do know his Father has the ear of the Minister. Right?" With grim looks they nodded again.

She smiled at them but there was no friendliness in it. "Just as I have sent word to Aunt Amelia." They paled slightly. "And most of us _will_ be believed by our adults. Minister Fudge is going to find himself in a very uncomfortable place when all those highly placed and influential adults begin demanding he do something to show Harry our allegiance. Which they will do as soon as they get confirmation our story is true and you are marked. And yes. Auntie Amelia will be right there with them. He's going to be hearing from so many parents and concerned parties he'll have to do something. I think it goes without saying he'll be eager to."

"I'd say, handing you three to Harry as slaves definitely fits with our current Minister's mental capacity. Nor is there anything in our laws that would prevent it. Not since magic herself declared you guilty. One thing is for sure. He will do something when enough of his supporters come to him complaining about your abuse of our national hero. Especially if it is discovered the Weasely parents had a hand in this mess as well. And if they didn't, I hope they can prove it or there's nothing in this world that will save your family or name."

"The Weasely bloodline is already known as a disgraced and cursed line. You may have glossed over why all the pureblood students call your family Blood Traitors when you were explaining it to Harry and Hermione here. But that doesn't mean other students aren't more forthcoming to those who don't understand the designation. A lot of very powerful and influential people not only remember that also but they know exactly why it is cursed. What do you think news of what you three tried to do will do to the family reputation? How long before Bill loses his job? He does work for Gringott's. Where we all keep our family fortunes. People might not like the idea the goblins are employing someone so closely connected to you. People might actually begin wondering if he helped you pull it off."

"How about Percy trying to work his way up in the Ministry? How long before he suddenly finds himself pushed out? Or your Dad. He's got a lot of time in there. A lot of respect. But you know he has a lot of enemies, too. Always pushing for harsher punishments for those who target muggles and wanting to reform the laws regarding the muggles. Yeah, he's got lots of enemies. This may be just the push they need to force his department to close down. Because your mark just puts a whole new spin on why he keeps pushing for that legislation. And then what?"

"And Charlie. Dragon Keeper's a highly honorable job you know. But the Reserves count on donations from the public to take care of their dragons. Might cost the Reserve some backing it gets out they hired someone related to such dishonorable thieves as you two. What you three have done. . . " She paused to shake her head sadly.

"Well, I'll just remind you Minister Fudge doesn't like people who make him or his administration look bad or weak and leave it at that." Then she and her group of friends also turned and walked away leaving the Trio of Misfortune to nervously eye each other and wonder just how to get this mess back under control. Ron and Ginny had both paled when Susan had mentioned their parents. And then their brothers. None of the family would forgive them if they lost everything because of this.

Harry, however, didn't care in the slightest for the misfortune of his so-called former friends. He was too busy quietly settling into his normal routine. He went to his classes and sat quietly in the back of the room. He asked no questions and didn't volunteer any answers to questions posed to the class as a whole by the teachers. But those questions asked of him personally, he answered to the best of his ability. What assignments he was given, he did and turned in without comment. He barely even bothered to check the marks and comments on returned assignments because to his mind the teachers were once again against him due to his call for judgement against their favored pets. He didn't need to see their remarks to know they were against him.

But just as the teachers were now targeting the Trio of Misfortune, they were actually grading Harry's work correctly. Even Professor McGonagal. Instead of docking points for every little mistake real or fabricated, they now left comments in the margins to help him improve his work or knowledge. All of them knew exactly why he wasn't interacting in their classrooms and none of them pushed him to do so. They had worked too hard and for far too many years to marginalize him to expect him to just bounce back to being a normal student simply because they now knew they'd been wrong.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. This chapter is a little shorter. I do want to bring one thing to your attention: Kathryn mentioned I had torn the characters down too far and isolated Harry too much for them to ever be Harry's friends again. I hope none of you are expecting that kind of a resolution because she's right. I did. Harry will not become friends with them in this story. They were never his friends to begin with so there's no friendship to recover. This is a story of individual realization and personal growth. Not a tear apart the friendship and rebuild it so we can sail into the canon future and live happily ever after.**


	21. Albus Returns

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings who did a great job rewriting King Arthur and Merlin for the modern age. Just a reminder here: I like canon Hermione and Ron though I don't really like Ginny. I even liked Dumbledore though for the life of me I don't know why.**

 **However this isn't canon and you won't find the canon characters in this story. This story has taken me years to write though I doubt I worked on it as long as Ms. Rowlings did. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Twenty-One: Albus Returns

Albus came back to the Castle expecting to hear Harry was once again chasing after his so-called friends trying to earn their forgiveness and be re-accepted as their friend. Something he knew his children wouldn't grant until he told them to do so. He had them well trained and had no illusions about their reasoning for doing his bidding. They were being well paid to lead Harry around by the nose for him and demolishing the boy's reputation behind his back. It didn't occur to him that this was no longer true. The children had come to him complaining about their keys being recalled and not being able to get new ones, but with his own money issues he'd completely forgot they were no longer being paid at all. And children were notoriously fickle creatures.

It was his plan to have the trio withhold their friendship until November before graciously accepting Harry's overtures. Two months of begging should make the brat nice and humble for him and his children of choice. It should also sour all the other children on the idea of becoming one of his friends while at the same time making them want to be friends with his children. He wanted the students to see his trio as the better kids to know and be accepted by. This was one way of doing that. Even though Harry would always be more famous than they ever would be, they would be the ones the children thought more positively towards when they left school behind for the wide world. They would be the children others remembered as the popular kids. Who's names and faces everyone knew by sight. The other children would soon forget they'd attended school with Harry Potter.

Which would set things up nicely for the day when Albus finally sent Harry face to face with Tom for the last time. Harry would kill Tom for him and then die by the wounds Tom had given him. By that time, Albus planned to have Harry so set apart from normal society, no one would truly care that he didn't survive the confrontation so long as his main supporters did. Harry's time on this earth, which was coming to a quick end in just a few more short years, would fade into myths and legends just as all good temporary heroes do. In time, people would forget he'd ever lived at all. He'd become as much of a myth as King Arthur though not nearly as popular. While he, Albus, lived on writing himself into the annuals of history for far greater deeds. Centuries after his passing, which was guaranteed now that he'd lost Nicolas' Stone of Immortality, people would know Albus Dumbledore truly had walked the earth at one time. This time Merlin would be more remembered and beloved than Arthur.

It never occurred to him that without the Philosopher's Stone, he could die before Harry graduated. Or before his plans came to fruition. After all, every time Harry and Tom had met to date Harry had walked away while Tom usually didn't fare nearly as well. And he was already quite elderly no matter who's calendar you were using.

But for Albus, all he knew was that while his plan did mean he'd have to share the spotlight with the three teens, that was acceptable because they were nothing special. He'd easily be able to outshine them. There was nothing extraordinary about them as there was with Harry. Harry just seemed to attract people to him wherever he went. Albus had noticed that as soon as he'd shown up here in the Castle.

That first year had been a nightmare for Albus as all the children had seemed to want to do better; be better when Harry looked at them or spoke to them. And if he smiled at them, the children walked about on cloud nine, as the muggles say. He could do no wrong as far as the children were concerned. And the staff wasn't much better. He'd had to really hit his teachers with some powerful spellwork to get them to comply with his wishes for the brat. Even so, it hadn't really taken hold until the brat's second year.

Not even the now infamous detention he'd conned Minerva into giving him had worked out the way he'd hoped. The brat had been rescued by a centaur and the children had been furious over it. Not furious he'd been saved by Firenze or that he'd been caught breaking the rules and gotten punished. No, they'd been furious with him and the teachers for the punishment he and the other caught children were given. They were furious he'd been sent into the forest so late at night improperly chaperoned to hunt down what was killing the unicorns.

And power. The boy had more power than he knew what to do with. Which only made even older people flock to his side. How they even learned of the brat's power he didn't for the life of him know or understand. But they did and they all believed he was something special because of it.

It was one thing for the children his age to think he was something special. But when even adults thought it, Albus knew he had a problem. His own popularity was dying day by day as word of Harry's deeds spread from the children to their parents and guardians and from them to their friends and neighbors. Soon people would forget all about Albus and only see the brat.

No, it was far better Harry die in a face-off with Tom and the trio survive to rally the people to his banner once more. Albus knew they could be made to quietly disappear once they had served their purpose and the Wizarding World was firmly under his control. Headhunters did serve a purpose in this world after all. And they really didn't care why they were hired. Just that you have a clear image of the target who's head you wanted them to hunt and the money to pay their fare. No one would ever miss them because none of them had anything to truly set themselves apart from the masses. Well their parents would but that was normal and eventually they'd get over it.

The run-around he had gone through at the bank left him grouchy and out of sorts when he returned to the Castle. He'd had to go from teller to teller and office to office. He felt as though he'd walked miles and knew it had taken him several days to accomplish what little business he'd managed to get done. He wasn't a happy camper when he'd finally left the Bank footsore and weary to the bone. It made him even more unhappy to know he'd have to go back on the first of next month and more than likely go through much the same rigamarole he'd gone through this time.

He hadn't gotten exactly what he wanted from the goblins either which only added to his unhappiness. But since he had received some coin he didn't believe his failure was Harry's doing. Just bad luck that there hadn't been as much coin as he needed available at the time he was cleared through the channels. And damn but those were some convoluted channels. Probably due to the audit. What he really didn't understand is why exactly the goblins were doing the audit now. They'd never done one before. But hopefully when he went back on the first it would be completed and he could set up his automatic payment schedule again. It'd be nice not to have to worry about his money and paying his bribed people again.

Still, he wasn't prepared for the change that had occurred during his absence. Instead of the children all either bad-mouthing or mocking Harry if they weren't outright ignoring him, he found his three bought and paid for plants were the ones being ostracized and all three bore strange new marks on their faces. He frowned in consternation. What did they have to go and do something like that to themselves for? Well, if nothing else at least he knew why their fellow students were ostracizing them. He couldn't understand just what they were trying to prove by disfiguring themselves like that but at least they'd get the idea from their peers about how stupid an idea it was and never do it again. He dismissed it as just another of those weird childish phases they'd outgrow as soon as they realized no other students would copy it. And of course, it went without saying he'd add his own disapproval to the queue. Their new adornment was truly unsightly.

He never understood why teenagers always had to go trying to change things. The human body was perfectly fine the way nature had formed it. The world was fine the way nature had planned it. Just as society was fine the way Magic and he had designed it. It had all lasted for hundreds of years now and would last for hundreds more to come.

Idly, he wondered if Harry had anything to do with his children's decision to mar their faces right now. James certainly would've seen convincing the children to do something like this as a wonderful prank. At least Minerva should be in a better attitude towards the boy now. She was always claiming he was such a disappointment in not taking more after James. Or by trying to live up to his father but choosing dangerous stunts to pull instead of funny harmless pranks. She never saw the things James did as dangerous though Albus knew some of the things the Marauders pulled were very dangerous indeed. Consequently all the things Harry did she saw as shaming his father's memory instead of the life saving adventures they actually were. Albus knew James would've been very proud of his son. But this. Yes, this was something James would have done to his peers. And like James' would've been, Albus noticed Harry's own face was unmarred except for that lightening bolt scar.

He wondered how long it would take his children to remove the marks now that they were being shunned by their peers for them. But it wouldn't only be their peers cutting them dead, as the children say. Anyone who saw them with it was bound to discriminate against them. Especially young Ronald. Why on earth did he choose a Betrayer's symbol as part of his body art? He would definitely be having words with that boy as that was just plain stupid. Too stupid really. Didn't he bother to learn about the artwork before applying it to himself? Any first year runes book could have told him that symbol was a bad choice. Ms. Granger should have told him that mark was a bad choice. He wondered if she had and Ronald had simply chosen not to listen again. He did that quite frequently really. So did Albus actually. The girl was sometimes just too bossy and highhanded in her ways.

But as they were, his face to their age group, he simply couldn't let it slide. He'd have to weigh in on the matter as well. They had to present the right image and say the right things lest his popularity not carry over to the next generation. Image was everything and it was time his children learned that.

Thanks to Tom, the wizarding world did not like marks that disfigured the body. Everyone knew Tom marked those that agreed to follow his path. All Death Eaters proudly wore that brand on their left forearms. And now society had come to equate all body marking as a sign of evil intentions. At least the Death Eaters could hide their brands when they had to mingle with the gentle people. His children couldn't. Which made their choice of location just as bad as the choice of bearing a mark in the first place. As a fashion statement this one would never take off.

So really. It was understandable the school's children were making it very clear to his children that they didn't like the new fashion. Really. They should've known better, he thought. Popularity was one thing but Tom had made marking yourself a very unfashionable thing to do and not many of the Wizarding World would do so willingly these days. Actually, it was something the Wizarding World had never really gotten into seeing as how such marks had often been used to indicate ownership. Human slavery was not such a bygone practice for the magical world as it was for the muggle one where people had short lives and even shorter memories. It was even still on the books as legal here in the wizarding world though nowadays the only slaves anyone owned were house-elves.

Harry knew the Headmaster was back from his trip to the bank now. He also knew the old man had gotten some money but not until the goblins had discovered exactly what he planned to do with it. If it was going to someone, exactly who was receiving it and if Albus believed they knew where it had come from and what if anything Albus believed they would do with it after they got it. At least they knew what Albus told them he planned to use it for which was probably a lie as the old man wasn't likely to admit he would use it to bribe people.

The goblins would have led Albus all around the Bank making sure as many of their Rank and File saw him as possible so as to identify him for what he was. A thief stealing from one of their Holders. Harry also knew the Goblins would only let him have a percentage of the coin he came in for. A very small percentage. So he would be forced to return if he truly needed the whole amount.

Not to mention if he needed money on a monthly basis he would need to return to the Bank each and every first of the month. If he missed his deadline of arriving there on the first, he'd have many more steps to go through to explain why he missed it before he'd get to sit down with ToeScrape, who had been given the honor of annoying the thief while making sure all goblins could identify him on sight, to discuss his current monetary needs. And if he displeased the goblins enough, which given how upset with him they were was really easy to do right now, he'd find himself evicted without any coin at all.

Which would force him to make a second trip. This second trip would give them even more time to parade him around to different areas of the bank manned by different goblins exposing him even further to their people. And given all Gringott banks were connected there was a good chance it wasn't only Wizarding England that he'd be paraded through. And they'd make that parade walk as uncomfortable for the old man as they possibly could. Harry felt no guilt or remorse for the old man though. He'd made his choices and those choices weren't in Harry's best interest. Those choices were to lie, cheat and steal from him while doing his level best to get Harry killed before he could grow up.

Harry had enough money he wasn't really worried about it right now and, thanks to his Aunt and Uncle, he wasn't worried about the items in the vaults that weren't money. The goblins wouldn't dare let him take those out. Hell, they were so scared of his Aunt they weren't even letting Albus go near one of Harry's vaults. A goblin runner would bring the amount of coin to him when the goblins decided how much he could have for that visit. And not even Albus was brazen enough to argue with the goblins over vaults that didn't belong to him.

Still he rather thought he'd be receiving a message for another meeting sometime soon. After all, he had marked the two youngest Weasely's and the Granger chit with Behavior Modifiers. On their faces. Where they couldn't hide them and pretend they weren't actually there. Something he was well aware they would've done if the marks had formed anywhere else. It seemed Magic had agreed with him since the marks had formed in a place none of them could hide them.

Albus was in for a rude surprise though when he tried to give Harry's vassals their new orders for the year. Harry's modifiers would inhibit the trio's ability to carry out Albus' orders. Well, not all of them. Just the ones that they knew would act to endanger Harry or his reputation. The modifiers wouldn't allow them to lie to or about Harry any more which seemed to be a major part of the tasks they performed for Albus. Granted, they didn't have to tell him everything Dumbledore asked them to do for him. But if he asked them a question about their orders they couldn't lie about the answer. Not if said order related to him anyway. Idly he wondered if they, or anyone really, had realized the trio could still lie if they wanted to. They could still lie, cheat and steal from and to anyone they wished. Just not to or about him any more.

Still with Albus back, Harry didn't want to be too visible in the school. The longer the man went without seeing him or remembering he was around, the better Harry's chances of finishing out this year and taking his Owls. So he was spending his out of time class either in his rooms or in the library. Dobby was even bringing him his meals so he didn't have to run the risk of seeing the man in the Great Hall and getting a message to come to his office.

In his rooms, he was doing a lot of brewing figuring he'd return from the Headmaster's office in need of at least a headache draught. He knew the old man would spend a good portion of that time trying to attack his mind. If for no other reason than to discover Harry's plans and secrets. And while he knew he could keep the old man out of his head, that didn't mean he'd be able to do so without suffering pain for the effort.

If he was in the library, he was working on his newest assignments or just discussing books he'd read over the summer with Madam Pince. He fully planned to take a great deal of Owl exams. Not all of which were available to the students of Hogwarts though most of them certainly should be. With the Librarians help, he was working his way through subject matter there was no class for but which would help him live his life after he finished his schooling. He knew some of the Owls he planned to take he would have to take over the summer at the Ministry but that shouldn't be a problem so long as he did it before his birthday.

Minerva was still trying to figure out a way to get her favorite Lions to read the book she'd made copies of. She knew they needed to read the books so they could understand how the solution to their disfigurement was in their own hands. It had only been a couple of days but to her it felt like it'd been months already. They were stubborn lions and they wanted to see Harry suffer for what he'd done to them. And they wouldn't hear a word she was telling them until she agreed to punish him. Hermione wanted him expelled. Immediately. Ron wanted the aurors called so he could be arrested because he had dared to raise his hand against a pureblood. Ginerva wanted him forced to announce their betrothal at a school assembly so everyone would know she wasn't tarnished goods and was still a respectable girl. None of them would understand what they wanted wouldn't happen and didn't matter _because_ it wouldn't happen.

She knew they also fantasized about standing up in the Great Hall with her and Albus confronting Harry over the marks and demanding he remove them while apologizing to the trio and admitting how inferior to them he actually was. To always follow their direction and do everything they told him to do when they told him to do it. That it'd never happen was something they just couldn't seem to understand. Mainly because socially Harry Potter wasn't their inferior in any manner but they wanted him to be. Nor would either she or Albus force him into a position where he had to claim it to be true. Not even in a private setting. Certainly not in such a public place as the Great Hall.

Albus might try and make Harry apologize to them but that was mainly because Albus treated apologies like candy. Only words that held little if any meaning and cost you nothing to utter. But even if he did, it was unlikely to happen. Harry was Lily's child. He didn't apologize when he felt he was in the right. And the fact they were wearing the runes clearly showed he was right. Magic wouldn't have placed them if he hadn't been. Therefore there would be no apology. Not from Harry to them anyway.

Second, only they could remove the marks. That was something she fully understood now. Only by admitting they'd done wrong and changing their behavior would those marks begin to fade and eventually disappear. No one could take them away for them. And honestly in this society, once people understood how they came to be marked, no one would even try to. People would see the marks as the hard earned fruits of their own labor.

But the children didn't care. Right now they were angry and hurt and they blamed Harry for it. Rightly, of course. Since he did call for the Judgement against them. But there was no way he'd ever get punished for it. Since if they hadn't been guilty, the marks wouldn't be there.

But she was also coming to realize the three weren't the children she'd thought they were. Their inability to own up to their own bad behavior was as enlightening to her as it was disappointing. She was still fond of them. She just now realized they weren't exactly who she thought they were. As was obvious by the fact they were still trying to convince her Harry had lied to her and they'd done nothing wrong. That he'd just been angry and took his anger out on them for no good reason.

They'd come to her office today to try and convince her to punish Mr. Potter. To make him remove the marks he'd put on them. Just as they had yesterday. She'd refused.

She in turn tried to get them to understand they were being punished by Magic itself. Not by Mr. Potter. She tried to get them to read the booklet. Just as she had yesterday. They'd refused.

She had noticed Albus returning to the Castle and was actively engaged in trying to keep the trio from seeing him as she knew him well enough to know he'd take their side, never noticing whether or not they were lying to him. He'd then do exactly as they wanted. Oh, he wouldn't set the scene in the Great Hall or anything like that. But he would call Mr. Potter to his office so he could punish him for the offense against them and try to force him to apologize to the children. Because it'd never occur to Albus that they deserved the marks they wore. Or that it'd been Mr. Potter's right to punish them for their transgressions against him. Especially as no one else would even admit they were transgressing against him to punish them.

That had been another eye-opening realization for her. She'd finally had to admit to herself that even if Mr. Potter had come to her about what the trio were doing to him, she wouldn't have done anything about it. If she'd even have listened to him at all. Which chances were good she wouldn't have. Because at that time, she'd thought he was the bad seed in her tower. Now she knew if he was, he wasn't the only one.

So for now she just wanted to keep the trio away from Albus for as long as she possibly could. To delay that meeting for as long as possible. Because even if he could, she knew Mr. Potter well enough to know he'd do nothing to remove those marks.

Unknown to Minerva she wasn't the only adult at the Castle seeking to keep the trio away from Albus by any means necessary. So were some of the other teachers. All of whom had come to realize the trio hadn't yet come to understand no one could free them of their marks but themselves.

Flitwick, Sprout and Professor Babbling all took to waylaying the trio in the halls and making them assist them in some task or another whenever they saw them headed for Albus' office or saw Albus approaching the same hall the trio were in. Flitwick always had to make up a task for them to aide him with but Sprout never had that problem. With her in charge of the greenhouses there was always something she could put them to work doing. And Professor Babbling was working a new string of ancient runes she claimed to need translation help with. Ron and Ginny had tried to beg off that but she wouldn't let them and dragged them into her classroom along with Hermione who was the only one actually taking her class.

Even Madam Pomfrey and Professor Vector had misdirected them away from Albus a couple of times. Madam Pomfrey claimed to need them to help her in the infirmary where she supposedly needed some extra hands or strong backs. Though Professor Vector had only done so accidently because she actually did need a helping hand in her classroom at the time. She was in the process of breaking down cleaning and then reassembling some of the telescopes her students used to study the nighttime sky. In short, everyone was doing what they could to give the trio time to realize demanding punishment for Mr. Potter would get them nowhere and that they deserved the marks. Now all that needed to happen was for the Trio of Misfortune to get the message they, the teachers, were giving them.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. This chapter is a little shorter. I think the next one is longer. Last chapter for tonight. There's about twenty more to go so until tomorrow. Happy reading and good night.**


	22. Staff Showdown

**Author Note: By this time you all know the Harry Potter universe and characters aren't mine. Ms. Rowlings owns them. And that doesn't bother me a bit. This is a story of how things could have gone differently had the characters behaved in a different fashion or had different motivation for the things they did.** **As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Twenty-Two: Staff Showdown

Surprisingly, to many of the teachers, Minerva didn't run to Albus demanding he do something about Harry's marking of the Triad as soon as he returned to the Castle. She normally went to him with everything involving Harry just as fast as she could reach his office. But this time she didn't. In fact she seemed to be doing her utmost to keep the Triad away from Albus and him away from them. None of them knew why. They were just glad she hadn't and was.

Severus had expected to hear Harry had been called to the Headmaster's office within an hour of the Old Man's return to the Castle. He'd spent what little free time he had in areas where Potter was normally at, waiting for someone to appear with the expected summons so he could accompany the teen if it came. He even spent time doing his required brewing in Potter's rooms where true to his expectations he discovered one of the doors led to a well-appointed brewing lab. He had no intention of ever allowing the boy to face Albus alone again if he could prevent it. Because to his mind, if those three had been actively trying to stab the boy in the back, and succeeding at it, then Albus not only knew about it but condoned it and was more than likely helping them succeed at their backstabbing.

In fact, he'd heard the Triad mention that Albus set up the vaults for them. And not just during the Library Confrontation either. When confronted by their peers in the halls, they were still saying they had a right to the money from his vaults as Albus had set it up for them. That implied he knew exactly what the three were doing and more than likely had asked them to do it. Hell, Granger had all but said her instructions were from the old man directly.

Which meant, regardless of what he said and everyone believed, he didn't have the boy's best interest at heart. There just was no way the actions of the Trio of Misfortune could be in the boys' best interest. Just no way. Which put him, Severus, at loggerheads with the old man because of the vow he'd taken to protect Lily's child. He was honor bound to stop anyone who was actively trying to harm the boy. And that included one very pesky meddlesome Albus Dumbledore.

Nor was there anyone Severus could go to about the matter since he didn't trust Minerva to act in Harry's best interest against Albus. She'd made it perfectly clear over the last four years she didn't like Harry Potter and would only ever act to punish him for whatever offense another told her he gave them. Whether he actually had or not. She was entirely too much in thrall to Albus to ever be willing to concede that maybe he didn't have good motives towards someone. Child or adult. She might have been coming around to the idea that this time Potter was in the right in what had occurred but that didn't mean she liked it. Or that she believed he'd been in the right in the past. As far as Severus knew, she still believed what the Triad had told her in past years had been the truth.

And Potter had no other legal representative who could speak for him against Albus Dumbledore. Not that Potter knew he could legally turn to Severus for aid against the Headmaster. He didn't. Severus had never told him he was his Guardian/Protector here in the magical world. Nor was it something Minerva would've mentioned to him. Since Albus was still claiming to be the boy's magical guardian, there was no way he had either. Legally, he never had been but he, like so many others, figured the child was too stupid to know any different. The sad part was until the scene in the Library, Severus had been one of those people believing Potter was too stupid to ever figure it out. Yet now that he was mentally awake, he was chastising himself over the matter. How exactly should an eleven year old child, who'd been kept away from all things magical, have found out who their personal guardian in the magical world was?

The fact that Severus was his Guardian/Protector was actually one of the things Minerva held against the boy. It shamed her that someone outside her house was chosen by the 'gamot for the role instead of herself . So there was no way she'd told him either. And as far as he knew no one else here at Hogwarts actually knew. So if the three adults who knew hadn't told the boy, how exactly was he supposed to know?

But it hadn't happened. Albus hadn't met with any of the children in question upon his return to the Castle. Not yet anyway. He'd been seen at Breakfast and walking slowly in the halls a few times. And they'd all seen the Triad trying to approach him when he was. But he missed more meals than he attended. They assumed he was stuck in his office slogging his way through the mountain of parchment that came along with being the Headmaster. He had been out of the Castle for a few days so it would've piled up on him. It was well known to all who had to deal with the parchment monster, letting it pile up was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

And while that may have been true, it wasn't why Minerva hadn't gone to him about the confrontation between Potter and the Triad. Severus, when he went to dinner in the Great Hall, was relieved to notice that once again the Headmaster seemed to be stuck in his office. Or at least he wasn't attending the evening meal. That meant he could question Minerva without the Old Man's interference.

So that evening at dinner, he asked Minerva about why she had yet to inform the Headmaster of relevant matters. She admitted, with a heavy sigh, that although she still didn't like it and felt Mr. Potter should have talked to someone about the situation before he went ahead and invoked the spell, she'd read the book Madam Pince had given her about it. She now realized there was no one he could have gone to because she, the person he should have gone to first, most likely wouldn't have heard a word he was trying to tell her. And if she wouldn't have listened to him, no one else would've either. It was quite the admission for her to make and Severus inclined his head in acknowledgment as did Filius and Pomona who had heard her as well. Like her Triad, Minerva didn't like to admit her mistakes. Unlike them she would when she had to; when she was confronted about them. But she didn't like to.

"Furthermore," she told him, "the Book made it clear the removal of the mark is in the hands of the triad. Only they can decide if and when it's ever removed. Or if it grows or shrinks in size and complexity. And given what the marks are rumored to be over, I'm being forced to admit anyone he might have gone to about it, would've shut him down without hearing a word he said. He didn't turned to an adult for advice or help because there literally wasn't one available who'd actually listen to him and help him."

Her voice was full of remorse but Severus couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for her as it was her job to always listen to and support her students. Even when she personally didn't like them or feel they were right in what they were wanting to discuss with her or get her help on. It was her duty to be available to them. All of them. She never had been with Potter and he knew it. She'd very clearly failed Potter. Over and over again. So many times even the boy himself knew he couldn't go to her for assistance.

"Reading the book told me the casting of the spell wouldn't have worked had Mr. Potter hadn't had the right to call for their judgement to begin with. The book made it clear it's a course of last resort for the person employing it. Something to be tried when all other avenues have failed," she had quietly admitted. "Because only a person truly wronged by the person the spell is cast upon can call for it and only the crime(s) admitted to by the accused against the accuser will Magic render judgement for. And if the person being judged doesn't feel they are guilty of said crimes, the spell will backlash upon the caller. It didn't backfire. That means they are guilty, Severus. Much as I don't like it, they are guilty and he had a right to do as he did. So until I can get them to admit they deserve their marks, I'm not going to be going to Albus or willingly stepping aside to let them go to him on their own. Albus' interference at this point will only hinder their recovery. And they can still recover and go on to lead happy productive lives. The book also made that clear."

To her further shame, the book had made it very clear the victim was always judged by their own magic and not by magic of another. And with Magic itself as the arbiter, it wasn't in any manner dark magic. That was why she'd overridden the copyright protection on the booklet and made many a copy of that particular bit of information to make it available to the student body. If she hadn't known of the law and punishment, it was a guarantee none of the students knew about it either. And the students needed to know the trio were judged by their own innate magic. Not Harry's.

He looked at her consideringly for a few minutes before he finally spoke. "I told you he didn't do any dark magic but you didn't believe me, did you?"

She looked down at her plate but shook her head. "To my shame, no, I didn't. I apologize for doubting your word. I never even considered it could've been judgmental magic, Severus. We don't teach that branch of magic here so there was no reason to believe a student raised outside of our world and away from any other magical people, who's spent every summer since coming here living in those same conditions, would have any knowledge of that magic. He's only a part of our world for a little more than eight months each year and that's only the last four years. Plus, Albus has done everything he can to make sure what exposure he has to our world, is limited to this Castle and nowhere else. He even has Molly Weasely doing his school shopping each year as he doesn't want Mr. Potter in Diagon Alley before school begins. And you know Mr. Potter has never gone down to Hogsmeade with the other students. He doesn't have a signed permission slip to do so."

"So how was I supposed to realize he discovered Judgmental Magic? I still don't know how or where he learned it. The Twin Terrors said they found the spell for him and did the research on it. But still he had to have practiced it before he used it against them. And I just don't see when he had the time. I mean, it's not like he could have learned it at home over the summers. His relatives hate magic and wouldn't know a magical spell if it reached out and bit them on the arse. So I could only think it was either Light Magic, which I know of no spell which would leave all three of them disfigured in such a fashion, or Dark Magic, which you have to admit he does have access to learning no matter how much we'd like to deny it."

That did it for Severus. He saw red. From day one, she had been trying to get him to admit Harry needed close supervision and should be regarded with utmost suspicion. Any time things went sideways and Albus found Dark Magic,(which for Albus was a catch-all phrase meant for any and all strong magic he himself hadn't cast), had been used in the Castle, her first thought was that Harry did it. Simply because his scar granted him a clear connection to the Dark Lord who used dark magic as regularly as he breathed.

She even tried to say because Severus had been selected as his Guardian/Protector and he was dark magic inclined that was further proof Potter had to be carefully watched for using dark magic spells. She claimed the only reason Severus was selected for the position was because he was dark magic inclined and Harry's scar made it necessary he be guarded by someone who'd recognize when he did dark magic under it's influence. That was after the rejection of her petition to become Potter's Guardian/Protector. Almost no one believed her claims though his fellow staff members didn't disbelieve it either.

She'd always been the first person amongst the staff to assume Potter was behind whatever was going wrong in the school and she'd always try to convince the rest of them the danger was only because he was a student at the school. The students might believe it was Severus trying to get Potter expelled but the truth was Minerva tried a lot harder than he ever had. She didn't trust Potter simply because she didn't like him and saw him as a disappoint to his deceased Father's memory.

His ability to speak parceltongue had only cemented her belief that he had access to dark magic they couldn't in any manner control or curtail. Because she truly believed those who could and did speak to the lowly snake were evil incarnate and could only grow up to become a danger to society. But she'd even tried to pin the troll getting into the school back in his first year on him. Because he was the one to find it, fight it and defeat it. Yes, that redheaded garbage disposal had been with the boy at the time but even Severus had known that was only because Potter had forced the issue. But her claim at the time had been just plain stupid. There was no way he could have done that just because of his scar connection. The child hadn't even known trolls existed at that point in time. Let alone where to find one.

She definitely saw his actions in rectifying those yearly bad situations as just him cleaning up after himself so as to be able to return to the school the following September. She often drew unfavorable comparisons between Mr. Potter and her former classmate, Tom Riddle, to support her view. And while Severus would admit they were some surface resemblances, that's all they were. Surface resemblances. Inside, where it counted, Potter was nothing like Tom Riddle and anyone with eyes could see it. Potter was the day to Tom's night. He was good while Tom was definitely bad. Potter wanted to be left alone to live his life as best he could. Tom wanted everyone to bow down before him and declare him God and King while he made all their choices for them. Potter didn't care what choice you made so long as your choice didn't involve him or other innocent people. No Potter and Tom were nothing alike.

Severus narrowed his eyes in disgust. Even now she was still trying to paint the boy as something less than noble. Coldly, he said, "Mr. Potter may be a lot of things, Minerva, but he isn't evil and never once has he ever done anything that even came close to showing him to be evil. He's spent every single year here trying to save lives. Often by risking his own to do so. Those two girls you're so very fond of are prime examples of that. And it's far more than I can say for you. Hasn't his yearly trips to the infirmary proven that much at least to you?"

"He saved their lives. He defeated whatever peril was in the castle or on the grounds each year. In his second year, he fought and defeated a monster we couldn't even find in a room we also couldn't find. How did you thank him for that? You blamed him for not doing it sooner. Because we did lose a student that year. You claimed it was his fault Colin Creevey died because clearly, as he did find and kill the beast at the end of the year, he could have done so at any time. Therefore, Mr. Creevey's demise was his fault. We know differently though, don't we? We know it wasn't him turning that monster loose on the school, don't we? It was that redheaded girl you're so fond of who did that, wasn't it? She was the one flirting with danger all that year, wasn't she? Killing animals and petrifying students. Keeping secrets that was putting the school in grave danger. Yet you feel sorry for her. Claimed it wasn't her fault because she didn't know the book was bad. She certainly should have realized waking up covered in blood was bad though, shouldn't she? Yet she never said a word to anyone about it, did she? Kept it a secret, didn't she."

"I can see not realizing a talking diary was a bad thing. Merlin knows we have enough sentient objects here in the school to make any child not question that. But she was waking up covered in blood and feathers. Having black-outs where she couldn't say what she'd been doing for hours on end. She certainly should've known that wasn't normal for eleven year old children, Minerva. Yet you've never questioned why she didn't seek help. You've never once said she did wrong in hiding that information from us. The whole incident could have been resolved much sooner if she had done as she should've and all you've ever done is make excuses for her while glaring at Mr. Potter and blaming him for not resolving it sooner."

Minerva was squirming in her seat as she'd never even thought about the second year fiasco like that. And she had blamed Mr. Potter for the death of her young lion. Because she had assumed if he could find and defeat the monster at the end of the year then he could certainly have done so before young Colin had died. Even though intellectually she knew Ms. Weasely had been setting the monster loose at the urging of the soul embedded in the diary she was using, subconsciously she still blamed Mr. Potter for everything it had done.

Severus gave her a few seconds to absorb what he said before continuing to air his long held grievances with her. "What's more, he's succeeded in his efforts without the slightest bit of help from you or any of us who call ourselves responsible for every student in this Castle. Except for the incident with the werewolf, not one of us has ever been there for him. Been there to listen to him so that he would feel he could trust us to do what needed to be done when it needed to be done. Or even been there to just treat him as fairly as we do the rest of the student body. And do you know how he reacted to me being there at that time? He clutched onto my robes and refused to let go. As if I'd disappear and leave him to face the raving monster on his own if he did. He wanted adult help and guidance. But We Were Never There." His words made not only Minerva wince but several of the other teachers as well. All of them were guilty of that particular failing and they knew it. Just because Minerva was his Head of House didn't absolve them of having a responsibility to be there for the student body of which Mr. Potter was certainly a part.

"The lives of our students have been saved but we didn't save them, Minerva. He did. A student here just like them. A student we should've been protecting. And weren't. And how did we repay him for his actions? We punished him. We showed our gratitude by sending him back to his relatives early without so much as a thank-you. As soon as he was conscious enough to rise from his sickbed, Albus would portkey him back to his relatives each year. Sometimes that was before the conclusion of the end of the year exams and not a single one of us protested that action."

"Or a grade report," added Filius quietly to Pomona who was once again his seat mate. She blinked at him puzzled as to what he was talking about. "It occurred to me he has always been sent back to the muggles by a portkey from either the infirmary or Albus' office days before we hand the children their final grades. Severus is right. In some years, he hasn't even gotten to take all of the end of the year exams before Albus sends him back to the muggles. So he has never actually gotten his end-of-the-year results. And none of us ever said a word about it." She gaped at him blinking in shock.

But Severus was still talking to Minerva. "Not a one of us bothered to grade his class work fairly last year or even for most of the year before that. Hell, I don't think most of us were grading him fairly in his second year either. While I have my reasons for always seeing the less than desirable in him, I'm not his Head of House. Nor are any of his other teachers. But you are. And yet, I know for a fact, you're the only teacher who actually failed him in any of his classes. While the rest of us may have used the harshest grading methods we could on his work, none of us actually failed him. Because we knew he hadn't failed our class. I'll admit I didn't grade him fairly, but he still received at least an Acceptable from me. As he did from Filius, Pomona, Aurora and the rest of us. Well, Hagrid actually still gave him an O but that's more because Hagrid is incredibly loyal to those who are loyal to him. What grade did you give him, Minerva? You who are his Head of House and should've been supporting him, working with him to change his behavior and attitude. You, who should've been holding counseling sessions with him if his behavior, work ethic, assignments and attitude bothered you so greatly. What did you do for him? That's right. You bad-mouthed him and shunned him. You failed him from your class and did everything short of expelling him as a Gryffindor."

"Do not think I am unaware the Castle refused to allow you to expel him from Gryffindor House. You wanted him resorted into Slytherin House simply because that's the House of the 'Dark' wizards. Because he can speak the language of the snake. Because his scar shows signs of dark magic residue. But tell me, what else would it show when it was created by the use of a Killing Curse thrown at him in infancy? Did you really think it'd show light magic residue? The Sorting Hat was taunting me about how I was going to have to put my galleons where my mouth is when Mr. Potter became a Slytherin. And since when has a scar emanating dark magic residue ever meant the person bearing said scar is evil, Minerva?"

"But from where I'm standing, that's the worst part about this realization. He should've been resorted. Into my house. Because maybe then I'd have seen this coming and been able to stop it. Maybe we could've shown him another option for dealing with his tormentors. Chances are good we wouldn't have because those three definitely deserve their markings and it is the most fitting of punishment for them. But it's possible we would've. Because we Slytherins don't turn our noses up at our members just because we don't like something about them. Or think they aren't worthy of their parentage like you Gryffindors do. We may not like everyone in our house. But we don't cast them aside. Or say they aren't worthy of our house because they aren't like us. Or share our goals in life. Or come from a family we don't agree with. But I'm not his Head of House and so I didn't."

"You should've been doing everything you could to help him because you're his Head of House. You. Not me. Not Filius or Pomona. You. But you weren't. Were you? You still aren't. You cast him aside and did everything you could to distance yourself and your tower from him. What were you hoping? That he'd get such bad grades from the rest of us that Albus would have no choice but to expel him and thereby ruin any prospects he might have for a good future? Did you forget he's the Potter heir? You can't ruin his future for him by failing him out of school even if that was your goal. Any other school would snap him up before he even cleared the front gates. But way to solve a problem there, Minerva."

"But here's the one thing I want you to consider the next time you decide an eleven year old child is evil incarnate. What exactly makes a person choose to become a Dark Lord or Lady, Minerva? He was eleven years old when you decided he was evil incarnate because of that scar on his head. A scar he got as a one year old babe fighting off a Dark Lord intent on murdering him. What'll it be next time?"

She opened her mouth to hotly deny what he'd said about her trying to force Potter out of the school via failing grades and he cut her off. "Don't bother denying what your plan was last year. The grade you gave him in your class added to how you've consistently allowed your tower to isolate him for the last three years tells the tale all too clearly. Even when you found it was the Weasely girl who opened the Chamber, you still blamed him for it, didn't you? You forgave her. But him? Not even. You do realize she was possessed after a fashion, don't you? By the soul fragment in that book she was writing in all year? A soul fragment you know damn well was Tom Riddle and you know who he became as well as I do. You knew it at the time. A soul fragment she spent the entire school year listening to and trading secrets with. I'd say she was much more influenced by evil than Mr. Potter considering he's never gotten another child killed while doing the Dark Lord's bidding. She has." He paused to let that sink in and then continued to rip her to ribbons.

Further down the table a short, dumpy lady earing a pink cardigan was scribbling rapidly on a piece of parchment and listening intently as two of the teachers went head to head over the child her dear Cornelius wanted dirt on. Albus had been driving Cornelius mad with his proclamation that the Dark Lord of times past had returned claiming Potter had witnessed his return. Cornelius wasn't sure of that because he'd never heard the boy say any such thing. But he'd sent her here to find out and quiet the boy if it was true. So far she'd seen and heard nothing that in any way meant the boy was a potential problem for Cornelius. This information, however, could do Cornelius a lot of good should Potter prove troublesome in the future.

"You're always the first in line to imply he's evil. That he's gone dark. That whatever is going on in the school is his doing. That he can't be trusted because he bears a scar on his forehead. Because he lived when his parents didn't. When so many others died. Well, what does that make her? Because she willing wrote in that book, Minerva. The book didn't compel her to use it. She chose to. And more than once too. Sitting down and writing a few lines once wouldn't have allowed the diary to possess her. She chose to keep writing in it time after time. Even after she became suspicious of him she still chose to write in the diary. And that let him in. That let him take her over. He warmed his way into her mind. Pouring himself into her brain and endearing himself to her in the process. That means not only was he in her head, but she had a soft spot for him in her heart."

"But you don't think she's evil do you? She let the Dark Lord possess her because she wanted a diary to write her little fantasies and insecurities in. A normal thing for little girls as I understand it. But still, she KNEW that book wasn't a good book for her to be using. She even knew she could go to those Twin Devil brothers of hers and they'd get her a new book she could use freely. But she didn't even consider it. She chose to let Tom in. And that's far more than he has ever done. He fights him. Every single time. She didn't even try. Who knows how much of him is still in her. You certainly don't. Because you never bothered to have her checked over. Or even told her parents to do so. You never even mentioned the possibility to them. Did you?"

"But I'm telling you once and for all. His behavior here in this Castle isn't the behavior of an evil or a dark person. I've told you before he doesn't know Dark Magic and has never once even attempted to use a Dark Spell on anything or anyone. You don't listen because that's not what you want to hear."

Softening his voice he tried to soften the blow to her pride somewhat. "Keep bad-mouthing him like that and you might just convince him he's been neglecting a side of his education he should pursue. I'm perfectly sure the Wizarding World will be quite happy to forgive you if you turn their little Hero Boy into the next Dark Lord who'll make the current one look like nothing more than a wet, spitting kitten."

Her eyes flew up to his face as she seemed to realize he was angry with her again. "I said nothing of the kind, Severus," she protested.

"On the contrary, Minerva," interrupted Filius grimly. "That is exactly what you said. Because we don't teach judgmental magic here and you didn't recognize it as a Light Magic spell, it had to be Dark Magic which you believe he has unparalleled access to that can't be monitored by any external means. But I'm curious Minerva. Since when have you become an expert on Light Magic? Since when have you become so arrogant as to assume you know every single Light Magic spell in existence? I certainly don't and I know a great deal of spells and their counters."

Pomona chimed in from her seat next to Filius. "At any rate, given what we know occurred with the re-opening of the Chamber and who it was that opened it, I'd say Severus is right about her. It's the youngest Weasely who has the greater access to Dark Magic spells. Because we don't know that all of Tom's essence was destroyed when Mr. Potter destroyed the book. For all we know, he's still influencing the girl. After all, she was corresponding with the personification of He Who Must Not Be Named while my understanding is that Mr. Potter doesn't do so under any circumstances. Mr. Potter may feel it when he's around and he may even see things he's doing, but he doesn't seek contact with him as she so clearly did."

"And there is also the fact that Mr. Potter has made it very clear he doesn't like being around that girl. Ever. From her very first steps in this school he has consistently made it clear he doesn't want anything to do with her. She is the one who has always forced her presence on him. With the help of those other two you're so fond of, of course."

"To me, that seems to be a pretty clear indicator that maybe she does still have some of him floating around in her head. Tainting her actions and decisions. I do know every time that man has been around in one form or another, Mr. Potter has fought him to make him go away again. But he can't fight her, can he? Because she's a student here. One you favor. You must remember, Minerva. She didn't fight him at all. She invited him in. Much like Quirrel did. Because she thought he wanted to be her friend. So I'd say if any child of your tower was predisposed to going dark it'd be her. Not Mr. Potter."

Madam Umbridge scribbled furiously as she wrote down what the Head of Hufflepuff had just revealed. Ginerva Weasely was possibly tainted with dark magic from a Dark Matter object she possessed in her first year of schooling. Going to be a dark witch when she grew up. A clear threat to the stability of the Wizarding society. Evidence: Potter, who was something of a dark magic monitor, didn't like being near her. Potter did destroy Dark Matter object the Weasely girl used. Professor Quirnus Quirrel possessed by Dark Matter of some type. Potter eradicated it in his first year? Scar seems to be conduit allowing Potter to identify Dark Matter taints and objects. Conclusion: Make effort to get Potter to work for Ministry as a Dark Matter identifier? The other Professors would've paled had they realized what she was writing down.

Severus' lips had thinned and his nostrils were whiter than normal and pinched tightly, letting her clearly see just how angry he really was with her judgement of Mr. Potter. As Minerva was reeling from the remarks of her fellows, he spoke with clear condemnation in every word. "I've stood by for the last four years now and put up with your leaps of judgement on him and his character, saying next to nothing as you went from being a staunch supporter to one of the masses condemning him for things far beyond his control and way outside of his ability to understand or counter. Always, I've stood in the shadows ready to do your job and rescue him as you cast him out as prey for the vultures to feed on. I did my job, keeping him alive because someone had to do it. And I swore an oath I would. For damn sure, it wasn't going to be you though it should've been. You're his Head of House. Not me."

"I don't cast him or any other student out as prey for the vultures, Severus," Minerva spat. "It's not my fault if he insists on going where he's been forbidden to go and sticks his nose in where it doesn't belong."

"No, it's the fault of those brats you like so much! Haven't you realized that yet? What do you think those runes are for? Did they just forget his birthday or something?" Severus spat back.

She ignored his outburst to finish what she'd been trying to say, "Every action he's undertaken that's gotten him injured is because he broke the rules and went where he wasn't supposed to be."

Pomona and Filius shared a look while quietly muttering, "And thank Merlin for that," as both of them knew without Mr. Potter they would've lost a student back in his first and second years and quite possibly in his third as well. Well, they had lost a student during Mr. Potter's second year and been the site for the death of others from outside the school during his third and fourth years. Hell, there had been a person who died in his first year as well. But Potter hadn't killed any of them. Or at least he hadn't been the reason they died. And they had lost a student in his fourth year as well. Again it wasn't Potter's fault but still Cedric Diggory had died on school grounds while he was enrolled as a student.

Neither Severus nor Minerva were paying them any attention however. "As the children would say; Wanna bet?," Severus sneered at her. "While you've stood in support of all your other lions, that isn't true for him, is it? And isn't that the same thing as casting him out for the birds of prey to feed on? You tell me, Minerva. When exactly did he ever have you on his side? Because I've been thinking about it and I can't remember you ever once being there to rescue him when he needed help. I can, however, remember who it was who sent him into the Forest of Death at midnight to track down a killer. A small, undersized, clearly malnourished child was told his punishment for being out of bed after curfew was to go into the Forest long after curfew. To track down a killer specializing in killing the most innocent of all creatures. A creature so fleet of foot they are nearly impossible to catch. Yet you had no problem sending a first year to go look for whatever was hunting and killing them. I didn't send him out there. Neither did Filius or Pomona. Not even Mr. Filch who terrorizes the students with his off-the-wall tortures as punishment did that. Nor was it the Dark Lord's doing, Minerva. That was your doing. His own Head of House. Someone he should've been able to believe would never endanger his life just to see him punished for a minor wrong doing."

"And it was a minor infraction that every student who comes here does at least once. Most more than once. But because it was him, you threw the book at him and decided one book wasn't enough to make an appropriate impact. You threw a whole stack of books at him. Didn't you? You decided it was appropriate to risk his life and safety. You sent four eleven year old children into danger because they embarrassed you. Three of them extremely important children, two of which have enough connections to make all our lives hell if something bad occurs to their offspring. But you didn't even think about that, did you? The one most of our society wouldn't have turned a hair over, you begged Hagrid to keep a special eye on because you liked her. So he kept her glued to his side while letting the other three fend for themselves. But her being present was a large part of the reason you threw the book at him wasn't it? You didn't like him involving her in what you saw as his rule breaking and embarrassing behavior, did you? She had a pleasant detention while he got the living snot scared out of him and came very close to being killed. By the creature hunting and killing the unicorns."

"They deserved that detention, Severus," she said weakly, trying yet again to justify her reactions to that long ago event. "You know they did. Detentions are always given when the students openly break the rules like that."

Filius jumped in with his own two knuts. "So did Hagrid as it was him trying to raise an illegal dragon here. Yet you set him as the supervisor of the detention, careless of the message being sent to the children. I know I never would've sent any of my little Ravens into the Forest that late at night. I'd have set them writing me an essay about why dragons should only be handled by adults who know what they're doing. On what they should've done when they realized what Hagrid's intentions with the egg were. In the Common room. Not outside the Castle."

"But what makes your choice even worse is you didn't catch them with the dragon at all. Nor did you catch them outside the Castle proper. You caught them at the foot of the stairs to the Owlery where for all you knew they'd simply been going to visit Potter's owl so Granger could send a message to her parents. For all you knew she could've had a nightmare or been suffering from homesickness. And he could've been trying once again to help her cope with it. They wouldn't have been the first years we've caught out of bounds for that reason. But you didn't know or ask any questions. You jumped to conclusions and just assumed he was breaking the rules for no good reason," sneered Severus.

Filius nodded thoughtfully. "That's true. What must they have thought when they realized it was more serious to you that they were caught out of bed after curfew than it was that Hagrid, an adult who should know better, was raising an illegal dragon on school grounds? Because even if you didn't realize, they did. I do believe you sent the wrong message there, Minerva."

Pomona nodded murmuring, "That was the first big detention for the year. All the children heard about it. I've never had such a well-behaved tower than I did in the weeks following that detention. The children were terrified. The message my first years got from that was: Get caught out of bounds after curfew and we'll send you to the one place you were told on your first night here to stay out of because it's dangerous. Because you can get killed there. Do something dangerous to yourself and others and we don't care until someone gets hurt. And when that happens, we'll punish you for it."

Severus sneered at her not willing to let her excuse herself yet again. "The children were caught out of bed after curfew. Name one other child caught for that offence either before or since that time, who's life you've ever tried to throw away with that kind of a detention. They were eleven years old. Children. Away from home and parental supervision for the first time in their lives. Of course, they broke curfew. So did the Marauders. So did I. But you never gave any of us a Forest of Death at midnight detention. You were perfectly willing to sacrifice both Mr. Longbottom, and Mr. Malfoy as well as the Granger chit to prove whatever it was you thought you were proving to Mr. Potter with that stupidity."

"Although I did hear you begged Hagrid to keep a special eye on Granger because you liked her. Because you felt she didn't deserve the punishment the way the boys did. You still like her. Even though you now know beyond any doubt she's not the girl you think she is. She never has been. You're still wanting to find an excuse for her behavior. Something you can point to as the reason she stole from him that will make her bearing that rune not so bad. Well, I will tell you right now. I don't care what petty thing you dream up. I'll not see her as anything but what she is. A thief and a piss poor excuse for a friend. Not to mention a would-be murderer. Because I finally found out just who it was that set my robes on fire during Potter's first quiditch game. Your favorite little lion set me alight that day. Not that I expect you to care."

He threw down his napkin, deciding eating anything right now would likely not be a good idea unless he wanted to have a second helping of it later on. He turned on his heel to leave the dining hall, not noticing how thoughtful he had left the teaching table or that Albus hadn't yet arrived. Just before he reached the door, he paused and looked back at the table catching her eye again.

"While it was the Dark Lord in that forest killing the unicorns, Minerva, and who would have gladly killed the students as well, it wasn't the Dark Lord who sent them in there. Nor was it me or the Defense teacher of that year. It wasn't anyone you might believe corrupted by Dark Magic. It was you. You're the one who sent four eleven year old children traipsing into the Dark Forest after a known killer, strong and fast enough in their movements to catch and kill the Unicorn."

"So who is it again who's Dark here? Dark is as Dark does, Minerva McGonagal and right now you're not looking all that Light to me. I should also remind you more Dark Lords and Ladies have come from a strength in Transfiguration than any other field of study. Nor was it Mr. Potter or any of my Slytherins who openly tried to kill someone in the first half of that year. That was your favorite girl whom you claim is a light orientated witch with no dark leanings. But Light witches don't jump to commit murderous actions." Then he pushed the door open and left the hall as she sat there pale-faced and slack-jawed, gasping for air.

Before she could recover Filius decided to attack her statement about Mr. Potter only getting injured when he was places he wasn't supposed to be. Calmly he said, "As for your statement in regards to his injuries, I'd say that's not true either. I distinctly recall him getting injured pretty seriously during more than one game of Quiditch. A game I know Madam Pomfrey told you flat-out he was in no condition to be playing. But you wanted him on the team because you needed a good Seeker that year. You didn't care one bit for his health or safety so long as it got you the trophy away from Severus' house. And every time he wound up warming a bed in the infirmary, Poppy told you it was why she didn't want him playing that game. But you wouldn't listen would you?"

"First season, someone in the teachers section of the stands was hexing his broom. Luckily, he didn't get injured then. But he could've very easily. I also recall you did nothing to aide him. Covering your mouth to quiet your gasps isn't in any manner helping save the life of your student. Nor did you even attempt to help Severus when it was clear his robes were on fire. You kept your eyes on Potter as he fought to control his broom."

"Second year, there was that bludger in the first game of the season. Again you did nothing but cover your mouth and gasp quietly. He suffered a fall from his broom and a shattered elbow if I recall correctly. But that was before the popinjay decided to lend his aide and vanished all the bones in not only his arm but his hand as well. And where were you? Nowhere close if I remember correctly. Albus let you allow your house team removing him from the line-up before any other games could be played. But that wasn't because he was too small to be playing was it?"

"Third year, it was dementors on the field and a fall of more than fifty feet. Again you only arrived on the scene after the fact and did nothing to aide him. Were you hoping he would die, Minerva? Certainly would save you the trouble of trying to get the rest of us to see him as the next Dark Lord wouldn't it? And again you let your house team remove him from the line-up but not out of concern for his safety though that's what you told everyone including him. You only did it because the dementors had interrupted the game and you blamed him for them swarming the field. I seem to recall you walking around muttering about how he summoned them with his connection to the dark side just to cause chaos uncaring of the safety of the students. Mutters your house team picked up on and acted upon to kick him off the team for safety's sake."

He was careful to keep the disgust he felt out of his voice and off his face. He'd long wanted to take her to task over the way she'd treated Mr. Potter and his quiditch skills but hadn't really had the chance before now. She always put the boy back on the team at the beginning of each year but by the time the second Gryffindor game rolled around the boy was always kicked off for one lame reason or another. Usually because of the bad-mouthing of the Unholy Trio. For which she'd always blame Potter when the team lost their game. But that third year, she'd been the one bad-mouthing the boy.

Pomona decided to weigh in. "But what strikes me about all of this is, it was you who decided he should play quiditch. Mr. Potter didn't decide to try out for the team in his first year. He didn't even know how the game was played if the rumor mill is correct. Poppy even tried to tell you he was too small. Too lightweight to play such a rough game. You didn't listen. Because Filius is right. You wanted the Quiditch Trophy in your office rather than Severus'. I do believe you also threatened to punish him if you heard he wasn't practicing hard enough. I also know you've told him each year before the trouble starts you expect the trophy in your office at year's end. And you blame him for every game your house loses after he's evicted from the team each year. As if he's the only player on the team. You do realize there are six other players on the team don't you? That just because a game is usually decided by who catches the snitch that isn't the only way to win a game?"

Filius took over again having gotten his disgust under control. "So you can't seriously expect anyone to believe he only gets seriously injured when he's somewhere he doesn't belong and has no permission to be." Then he too set down his napkin and hopped off his chair. He followed Severus from the Great Hall hearing the slow swelling that meant his words had been heard by some of the students and were now being discussed amongst them.

Murmurs broke out behind him as those students who had heard the discussion, repeated it to others who hadn't. Every word Professor Snape had said to Professor McGonagal had been clearly heard by the student body already in attendance for their evening meal in addition to what the other Heads of Houses had said. Professor Snape had been trying to keep his voice down; to keep it between the adults as had both Professors Sprout and Flitwick. But his habit of using a silky-smooth, quiet voice in his classroom to deliver his lectures or when he caught a misbehaving student in the halls, had attuned the student body to catch even the lowest vocal commentary from him. If for no other reason, just so they could know why exactly their house had lost points again or someone had been given another detention. But especially when it was clear at a glance he was angry. Most especially when he was angry.

And Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice was just as recognizable albeit for different reasons. The student body genuinely liked Filius Flitwick and they all tried hard to pay attention when he spoke. He was generally believed to be the most fair and impartial teacher of all the staff. He also made his classes fun so they all enjoyed having him as a teacher. For all those reasons, when he spoke the students tried to pay attention. Because he had their respect and they wanted to show him it.

One of the first lessons student of Hogwarts learn was How to Read Professor Snape. It didn't matter which house you were sorted into. Learning to read Professor Snape was an important survival skill. It was important they learn it as quickly as possible since he was the teacher most likely to give out detentions and strike points or infractions of the rules. And he was the one with the hardest class to receive a fair mark in. But he was also thought of as one of the most fair right alongside Professor Flitwick. Because, while he did favor his own house in the awarding of points, he never actually struck points for no reason or assigned detentions unfairly or without reason as the other teachers would.

Well, except to Harry Potter. Potter could lose points just for showing up for class on time with his homework in hand. And he could get a detention over which hand held that homework assignment. But for everyone else, Professor Snape was completely fair. Hard to please. But fair. He also seemed to genuinely care about them. Which made the student body want to please him. Because if they did, they knew they'd done well. More than once he'd caught someone out after curfew trying to reach the infirmary. Instead of giving a detention or docking points and going on his way, as so many other Professors would do, he'd escorted the student to the infirmary personally, getting a symptoms list along the way to inform Poppy of why they were in her domain while they just crawled into the first available bed. Sometimes he just gave them a potion from his robes and escorted them back to their dorm seeing them inside safely before going on his way. He'd even been known to escort a student to their dorm and tuck them into bed personally a few times. Some said he even carried the most commonly need remedies in his robes just in case he ran across a student needing one. Because of that, he was _the_ most respected teacher in the school though he didn't know it.

Therefore, the students in the Hall had heard the entire conversation between the staff. Those who remembered the aforementioned detention gladly explained what he had been talking about to their nearest neighbors who might still be in the dark about it, ensuring all the students knew he hadn't been lying. Those who knew about the quiditch ordeals explained about that aspect just as eagerly. All in all every word the students said cast further aspersions on the character of Minerva McGonagal. As a result, Professor McGonagal found herself losing the general respect of the student body who were all now almost universally behind their hero, Harry Potter once again.

Which was completely normal for the time of the year. But this time the students meant it. Things were different this year. This year Harry Potter had made the first strike. This year he had struck before any of his detractors could begin their malicious behavior against him. And this year the student body understood what was going on. At least, they thought they did.

To the students, it was bad enough his so-called friends had been using him and trying to kill him but that she, their teacher and his, had been a part of his problems here was just not acceptable at all. Needless to say, yet another wave of letters would be leaving the Castle that night bound for parents waiting to learn what the students now knew. And because Albus still didn't know what was going on in the school, he hadn't locked down the Owl Loft to prevent it.

By the time Albus finally arrived for dinner, that long ago detention was being rehashed along with other stories they had heard about over the years. All the stories were being recounted and debated once again with a new eye to whatever truth might also be concealed in them. He had no idea why the students were rehashing old news but assumed it was because he hadn't yet enacted this years plan to further ruin the name and reputation of his chosen puppet. Students did like to gossip and tear each other down after all. And with nothing new occurring yet, well perhaps it was understandable they turned to old news for entertainment.

But then he really couldn't enact anything this year. Because this years plan really revolved around when Cornelius' woman would begin her campaign of terror on Harry and the other muggleborn or halfblood students. He had no idea she had revised her plans given what the boy had already done and the turmoil surrounding the event. Nor did he understand why she was sitting there so prim and proper smirking at him.

Because he'd been preoccupied with other matters to this point he also didn't realize Harry hadn't actually challenged her in the classroom when she touted the party line. Harry hadn't claimed Tom was back and gearing up to be a viable public safety threat. So Madam Umbridge had nothing to target his puppet over. He was her sole target at this point in time. But Albus had no clue. Because it never occurred to him, Harry didn't believe in him and trust in the goodness he proclaimed to represent to all and sundry. And therefore wouldn't defend his honor when it was called into question by another.

But at the student tables, rehashing history had a point. If the Forest story had been true when they had all been told it wasn't, then who knew just how many of the other stories, discounted as lies or exaggerations, were also nothing but the truth? After all, those stories all had the Unwelcome Trio as the story tellers also. And the students all knew now those three were nothing but liars taking credit for actions not their own while blaming others for things they themselves did or said. So if they were known liars who had lied about one story they all believed was true, then who was to say they hadn't lied about the other stories as well?

They all knew Harry Potter was a hero. No one had ever denied that but he'd been involved in almost all, if not every, traumatic event that had played out in the Castle for the last four years. Always they'd been told it wasn't he who'd actually saved the day but someone else. That he was the one actually causing the problem others had needed to resolve. Usually said resolution was somehow accomplished through the combined efforts of Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasely if he hadn't managed to spin things so that he alone was responsible for ending their peril as he did when his sister had run into trouble and needed rescue. But now the students knew beyond any doubt, Harry had rescued the foolish girl. Not Ronald. Ginerva Weasely owed a life debt in a very major way to Harry Potter.

No one was looking at any of the trio or at the Teachers table so no one noticed Professor McGonagal squirming uncomfortably or the angry, embarrassed looks of the trio. No one noticed how confused and angry Professor Dumbledore seemed to be either. Nor did they notice how tired he appeared to be. He was still trying to recover from the unexpected exercise he'd been subjected to at the bank. His muscles were hurting and the long walk from his office to the Great Hall hadn't helped matters any. It would take time for him to be able to move without pain again. At this point he was only hoping he'd recover before his next appointment at the Bank. Because he knew he had to go there. It was the only way to get more Potter funds. And he needed those funds.

They, the students, were much too busy trying to decide if another letter needed to be sent to their homes, letting the adults know what had occurred, and was occurring, here. Drama had never been higher in Hogwarts Halls then it was this year. And like teenagers everywhere, the students were having the time of their lives hashing it all out.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. This chapter is long. Too long really. But while I could have deleted part of it, I just really didn't want to. I was looking to see if I could maybe make it into two chapters instead of one. But . . .well, it really works best as it is. Happy reading.**


	23. Money Troubles

**Author Note:** **As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do. Also like always the Harry Potter universe and characters aren't mine. The way they behave in this story is all I can lay claim to.**

Chapter Twenty-Three: Money Troubles

But Albus, while he did notice the squirming of his deputy and the angry, embarrassed looks his patsies were casting around themselves, was much too preoccupied with his own concerns to deal with them right now. He'd been unable to get enough coin from James' vaults -he didn't, and never would, see them as Harry's- to meet his obligations and allow him to hire a new patsy to handle the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes this year.

Which meant he was going to have to deal with Cornelius' woman regardless of whether or not she'd allow the brat to learn the spells he needed to learn. It also meant he would soon be having to deal with upset people wanting to know where their expected bribe money was and why it hadn't arrived yet. That was far more troubling to him than a few upset and uncomfortable children as some of those people were well known for not being very nice or pleasant people. The children, he believed, had brought their misery on themselves and waiting a few days for him to lecture them over their folly before correcting it for them was no more than they deserved.

Albus had decided this was the year to begin corrupting Harry's soul by introducing him to the Dark Arts. He'd actually been hoping Tom's minion would do it last term but the man hadn't. He'd struck the kids with the Unforgivables, true. But he hadn't even attempted to corrupt the boys' magic with teaching him other, more corrosive, dark spells. And that meant it still needed to be done.

Albus was well aware of the connection between his former student and the brat he was currently playing with. He figured when the day finally came for him to throw Harry to Tom, he needed to have the public if not believing Harry to be a dark wizard, then at least leaning towards that belief and openly wondering about the possibility. That way they'd be less inclined to lament the boy's short life after he died in the fight. Because there was no way the boy would actually win a true fight between them. Tom was just too steeped in dark magic and experience for the boy, with the limited things Albus let him learn, to triumph over him.

He actually owed Minerva for pointing out how susceptible Harry should be to the corruptive forces of using Dark magic. Dark Magic was addictive, he knew. Even all these years, after the mess with Gellert, he still felt the call to use them. He always would. And it had been a long time since he'd willingly dabbled around with dark magic. Since his childhood really. Yet he still fought it's pull every day. And he always would. Because he couldn't be seen doing dark magic. His reputation wouldn't stand for it. He'd be ruined if the people were to discover he was tainted by dark magic. Not even sharing an office with Fawkes, the school phoenix, would save him.

But it was because of his own addiction that he knew Harry would fall hard and fast once he began to learn them. Harry wasn't as strong a person as he was, either. He was weak. Malleable. So once he fell, he wouldn't be able to resist the call as he did. And that meant this whole situation was drawing to a close now. It'd be over within a year or two at the most. All he had to do was wait for the boy to use a dark magic spell or two and then arrange a face to face between him and Tom. The magic of the dark arts would do the rest. Because it always did.

That was why dark magic would never triumph over light magic. It couldn't because while light magic enhanced it's users increasing their health and longevity, dark magic corrupted them and shortened their life span. So dark magic users would always die long before they came anywhere near triumphing over the light.

He honestly figured once the brat was addicted to the Dark Arts, it'd be an easy matter for Tom to use his connection to totally corrupt the child allowing him, Albus, to depose him as society's Savior. Given the trouble first Gellert and then Tom had created with their dark magic addictions, he knew the people wouldn't accept their Hero being addicted to it as well. It was why he'd hidden his own addiction. Why he resisted using it no matter how strongly it called to him. Well, resisted using it where and when he could get caught anyway. He did have to use it from time to time. Because he was addicted to it just as Tom was.

Which was why he'd been away for so long recently. He didn't realize he'd only been away from the Castle for three days and had only dreamed he'd needed to go blow off some steam after his visit to the Bank. But the dream was a believable reality to him because he'd been so frustrated over not getting the money he needed. He could easily accept he'd retreated to his hide-away to blow off some steam. Then it would've been necessary for him to spend some time recovering and erasing the taint using dark magic always left behind on it's users. Well, hide it at least. You couldn't really erase it after all.

But he knew he couldn't show up here still reeking of dark magic. Too many of the students had dark magic detectors these days and though he'd set the school wards to disable as many of them as he could, that didn't mean the wards caught all of them. After all, you had to know what the items were and how they functioned; what particulars the objects were set to detect to set the wards properly. For him though, it'd only take one student with a working detector for it to be a 'shows over folks' ending to his long and lustrous career as the Greatest Light Wizard ever.

The people wouldn't accept it from him. Just as they wouldn't accept it from the boy. The good news to Albus though was the knowledge of how he believed the people would react when he exposed the Potter boy as a dark magic addict. He believed the people wouldn't only reject the boy but they'd probably demand he be thrown through the veil or cast into the deepest, darkest cell Azkaban had, never to be released alive. He didn't even want to think about what they'd demand should anyone ever discover his own addiction.

But first he had to get him addicted to it. It'd do no good to simply hint at it without being able to back it up. And it was a foregone conclusion they'd test his wand and his magic for dark residue should he hint at the addiction. If they didn't find residue, it'd be Albus who'd bear the scorn of society. Not the boy. Because Albus had been very vocal in assuming guardianship over the boy. They might even demand he undergo testing himself as a possible reason for why he'd accused the boy. If that happened Albus knew it'd be all over for him. That test would show all his secrets and his worst nightmares would come true with the results. It never even occurred to him there would be nothing for a test to pick up on as he hadn't actually done any dark arts recently.

But first he had to hire the right person to teach the boy the spells. And that person was not Cornelius' woman. She could barely even do light magic spells. Forget about doing dark magic ones.

Or any other Ministry worker. Those who could do the spells weren't likely to teach them to society's savior child. Unless they worked for Tom. But even those people had shown they couldn't be relied upon to taint his enemy. Probably because they feared Potter would defeat their Lord and Master if they did. Not that he could. Learning a few spells here nd there would never be enough to combat years upon years of learning and battleground experience.

It never occurred to him for a second it was too late to hire a teacher for this year. That the Ministry had already installed Delores Umbridge to teach the Defense Against Dark Arts class. Even as she was currently sharing a table with him. Or that he might have a major problem brewing in the Castle. Just like it didn't occur to him his problems at the Bank weren't over. Because he still thought he was only having a temporary problem due to the audit they were performing.

Normally Albus was very aware of everything that happened in the Castle. This Castle was his domain and he was a very controlling person. But Albus was currently out of touch with reality. For him, reality was on vacation in an undisclosed location and couldn't be reached.

Ever since Harry James Potter had survived the night Tom Riddle had attacked his home and killed both his parents, turning the young child into something larger than life to the people, Albus had become obsessed with the child. Well, really his obsession with the boy had begun long before that night. His obsession had begun the moment he'd heard a prophecy regarding the coming of a person with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. But until Tom had decided to kill Harry Potter, he hadn't known who the special person actually was.

Like the rest of society, it never for a second crossed his mind that Tom Riddle wasn't the Dark Lord the prophecy had spoken of either. At the time Tom had been making great strides to change the British Magical society and he'd just assumed it was about Tom. Just like he'd assumed the word 'approaching' in the stated prophecy meant their savior would be a soon to be born child and not an adult. In that assumption, he'd been correct. So he just assumed he was correct in his other conclusions about that prophecy as well. Though Divination wasn't and never had been his strongest talent.

But he knew one thing for certain. Harry James Potter had the power to destroy all of Albus' hard work. Everything he'd spent his life working to achieve. Harry Potter could ruin it all and leave him as nothing more than a relic from a bygone era no one really remembered any more. It was bad enough the brat was rich. Rich beyond measure while Albus wasn't and never had been. He should have been wealthier than he currently was but an error in judgement while he was naught but a child himself had destroyed his life. And if his life could be ruined, due to a decision he'd made as a child, he saw no reason why others shouldn't also suffer forever for their own bad choices made in childhood. It was the reason he kept his Potions Master on such a short leash reminding him frequently he owed Albus for his current level of freedom.

It was a fact that no matter how hard he'd tried, he'd never been able to undo the wrong done to him back then when his father had died in Azkaban. His Father's will had been allowed to stand and even today he couldn't get anyone to overturn it. Percival Dumbledore had written his oldest son and heir out of his will simply because he blamed him for the accident that had befallen his daughter while she was under Albus' supervision. Then he'd gone after the boys who had hurt her and ruined the Dumbledore reputation in seeking revenge. His father had left everything to Aberforth when it was his right, Albus' right, as oldest son to inherit the meager savings he'd built up. All because Arianna had gotten herself on the wrong end of a curse or two. She shouldn't have made him angry with her whining and complaining.

But that was ancient history. Ariana was dead now as were his parents. She couldn't annoy or embarrass him any more. Nor could they with their uncouth pedestrian attitudes and habits. He couldn't punish any of them for the wrong they'd done him either. He'd just have to live with that. But this brat he could punish. Because this brat was also wronging him. He was threatening his position in history.

Adding insult to injury, the brat was not only the heir of his parents which made him wealthy, he was the body heir of his Godfather and surprisingly enough of the Lupin Estate. Albus hadn't even known Remus still spoke with his family until the Lupin will had been read. Remus had never said a word about the matter and Albus hadn't thought to ask him. Apparently Mr. Remandus Lupin had listened to his son's request to name the Potter child as his heir because Remus assured him, Harry would make use of the Estate to take care of Remus' needs and since he couldn't leave the Estate to his own son due to his status as a werewolf, leaving it to the Marauder Child was the next best thing.

Nor would Remus have been allowed to name a person to inherit in his place. Also due to the fact he was a werewolf. Not that Remus would've changed it. Albus knew he wouldn't have simply because Harry was the only child the Marauders had produced and as such he outranked Albus Dumbledore. Albus ruefully acknowledged he had shot himself in the foot with that particular set of laws since Remus couldn't name him as the inheritor of his father's estate. Even if he could talk him into it. Which he probably couldn't. Because Albus hadn't been a Marauder and Harry was the child of the Marauders. Therefore, he had a higher claim to any wealth, power or influence they could garner.

So Remandus had named Harry James Potter as his heir back in 1981 just as Sirius Black had. Albus had tentatively arranged to have the Lupin Estate turned over to him upon the death of Remandus only to find out it was being held in trust for the rightful heir with a small stipend paid out to Remus each month as the law allowed up until his death as per the terms of the will. Who had inherited the Estate from Remandus would remain shrouded in mystery until either the heir reached his or her majority or until the demise of Mr. Remus Lupin when the Ministry would try to take possession of it due to the line ending with no known survivors of the bloodline.

When Remus had reportedly died along with Sirius and Peter, Albus had very quietly had Remus eliminated now that he had no further use for him. Because of what possible use could a werewolf actually be when society believed they were already dead? Because of how events that full moon night had played out, Albus could only see how leaving him alive would come back to bite him later down the road. Greyback and his pack had been quite happy to take care of his problem survivor for him even if they didn't know they were doing so.

He had then urged the Ministry to make a move on the Estate through himself as the agent in charge. While that did mean he'd have to give a healthy portion of the old unclaimed Estate to the Ministry, he figured there would still be a bit left over for him to claim. He'd done it before and had no doubt he'd do it again. Because that was how he survived. Like a carrion bird scavenging off the remains others left behind.

He'd received quite the shock. So had the Ministry but Albus didn't care about them. He had been counting on that Estate to pay a few of his outstanding obligations and induce a few of the holdouts to his side. Not even his perceived status as magical guardian of the boy would allow him to take custody of those funds since Remandus had specifically stated his vaults would remain in lockdown until his heir came of age except for the monthly stipend for Remus which would end when Remus died.

Albus had known Sirius had named his Godson as his body heir but he had thought he'd be able to fight that since to his knowledge they weren't blood related and estates as old as the Black Estate needed to be passed on to blood so long as blood kin was alive to inherit it. He'd disregarded the knowledge that Draco Malfoy was also a child of Black lineage and if the Estate didn't go to Harry as Sirius wished, it'd then rightfully go to Draco. What he had discovered however, was he was wrong. Wrong on two separate but equally important accounts.

First, Harry and Sirius were related. Harry's Grandmother had been Sirius' Aunt and daughter of Arcturus Black, Head of House Black during Sirius' childhood. Which made Harry a Black by blood. Since she had been the sister of Orion Black, heir of Arcturus, this made her the top successor on the female side of the line. Not that that meant much in a family such as the Black family. But still, it placed Harry into the line of succession quite nicely. It also placed Harry Potter over Draco Malfoy in the line of succession since Draco was the son of Sirius' second cousin while Harry was the son of his first cousin, James.

Second, the Blacks had long ago written a by-law for their conscriptus that allowed them to incorporate those tied to them by right of magical bond as recognized blood kin. That way they could leave the estate to their spouses or to their god-children if all recognizable blood heirs were either deceased or unfit. Since Sirius didn't have a child of his own and he was the heir of Orion Black who was heir to Arcturus Black, that meant Sirius had been able to name Harry as his heir until such a day he had a son of his own to name.

Sirius and Harry not only share a blood line but they shared a bond recognized by magic itself through the Godparent/child connection. That gave Sirius the right to choose Harry over Draco as his Heir and it really was no surprise he had chosen Harry as he knew Lucius, Draco's father, was in thrall to Tom while James, Harry's father, was not. Sirius Black had hated Tom Riddle. There was also the fact Harry was a Child of the Marauders where Draco wasn't.

Further upsetting to Albus, was the fact that when he had checked into claiming what little funds Peter had left behind, he found those funds had been rolled into Harry's vaults in early 1982. Peter, it seemed, had gone to the bank after the death of his mother and filled out all the paperwork to turn his inheritance in it's entirety over to Harry for his culpability in the death of the Potter adults and the orphaning of their child. There literally was nothing for him to claim from any of the Marauders as every single item of worth had gone to the brat they had left behind. The brat was all that was left of the Marauders and they had each left everything they had to him. The Marauder Code had run strong in all of them and now it all belonged to the Brat.

But it didn't really matter. The brat didn't know how wealthy he was. Albus had seen to it he thought he merely had one small vault with a set amount of coin in it sufficient to see him through his education here and not one coin more. Since he had set himself up as the magical guardian, and he did have a lot of pull in the government, he had been able to control the distribution of funds despite not having inherited a single coin from any of the former owners or being named by any of them to the position of overseer or guardian. Stupid patsies really thought they had protected the brat as well as their estates from him.

But now something was going wrong. Drastically wrong and for the life of him he didn't know what was, or how to fix, the problem. He'd never counted on the goblins doing a random audit on the brat's vaults. And they of course knew every single vault and account the boy was heir to. So the audit was on every conceivable coin he could have laid his hands on. All he could do was wait for it to be over and hope they didn't discover what he'd been doing. Or that if they did, they'd believe he had the right to do as he wished with the funds. That would depend on his bought and paid for goblins being as good as they claimed they were though and Albus had little faith in them. They were creatures. Not human. No creature was ever as good as they believed themselves to be.

He did know he had to be careful though. People would throw a fit if they found out he, Albus Dumbledore, was manipulating the inheritances of their little Hero. Somehow he just knew if that news came out, the Brat would learn of it and he'd somehow also figure out he wasn't quite as near destitution as Albus had always implied he was. The last thing he needed was for the Brat to actually learn how rich he actually was. That would be the discovery that would set the fox amongst the chickens. It'd expose all the other half truths and outright lies Albus had been feeding him since he'd come to Hogwarts.

Not to mention having that information come out would definitely tarnish his own good reputation. It'd be hard to recover his standing as the lightest wizard alive if it became public knowledge he was ripping off his chosen ward when he'd claimed to be protecting him from that very thing by taking guardianship to begin with. So he had to be careful but it was essential he find out what and who had interfered in his control over those blasted vaults. One way or another he would find out. And when he did, whomever was doing it . . .

He ate his dinner as calmly as he could trying his best to conceal his rage over this turn of events. It'd taken him some time at the bank to discover the paper he had forced the brat to sign for him, while entitling him to withdraw some funds, didn't restore his position or unfreeze the accounts. Somehow the goblins were claiming the paper only allowed him to authorize payments that needed to be paid each month according to the terms of the wills involved in the vast inheritance.

Any arrangements he had made since the deaths of Lily and James Potter and the incarceration of Sirius Black weren't covered in those papers the brat had signed for him because they weren't covered by any previously written documents from the Potter adults that the goblins had seen. Nor did Albus had oversight of the Black Estates as that oversight was being handled by a committee appointed by the late Lord Sirius Black. And he couldn't just have the brat sign any other papers to restore his access until the audit was concluded. Said parchment wouldn't be honored because Potter wasn't either his parents, Sirius Black or an adult.

What made it worse was he couldn't produce James and Lily's wills, as the goblins had suggested to him, since he had them locked down when the couple had died to enable him to wrest control over their child and his vaults away from their guardian of choice. Which he knew wasn't him. Not even now that Sirius Black was dead. Next in line after Sirius had been Alice Longbottom. Which meant Augusta would now be the lawful guardian of Potter and overseer of the accounts coming to the brat if she knew what Lily and James wills had said. And against her he couldn't even try to convince the Wizengamot of possible mishandling of the Estate since she was above reproach in that regard. So no, he couldn't just go get the will out of lockdown and produce it to restore his access. It'd never work.

And since the parchment the brat had signed specified payment of debts and employment specifically mentioned in the wills only, it didn't actually authorize the release of a single coin into Albus' hands. Something the goblin he'd had to deal with had been only too happy to point out each time he requested coin for an expense he said was tied to the Estate. The little bugger insisted the bank handle all Estate payments themselves instead of giving Albus the money and leaving him to do the actual transactions himself. So he couldn't even choose not to pay the stated obligations and pocket the coins instead while running up a mountain of debt for the brat to face when he came of age. The goblins were forcing him to honor his position as caretaker of the Brat's inheritance whether he wished to do so or not. So for the first time in over ten years bills involving the Potter Estate were being paid.

And furthermore the parchment was only good for the payment of those monthly bills if he came in person each month and went through them with the goblin manager of the Estate. In other words he had to go once a month to Gringott's just to pay the Potter Estate bills. If he failed to show, the goblins could, and most likely would, have him rejected as Potter's magical guardian. Who would be named in his stead was unknown but Albus couldn't afford to find out either because whomever it would be would be sure to contact Potter and fill him in on everything Albus had been concealing from him all these years. And then Potter would never listen to him and follow his direction. Not that he really did now, he thought grimly. Little brat always tried to refuse to play his role in the events Albus engineered. His patsies always had to work hard to get the brat where he wanted him.

Nor would any debts incurred and accredited to the Estate outside the terms of the involved wills be covered until such a time as the accounts were unfrozen. What really irked him though was the goblins had said the accounts were to remain frozen until the little brat came of age. That's if he understood the little beasts correctly. Potter had said they told him they'd only be frozen for a couple of weeks. But they'd told Albus differently.

Even Potter's death wouldn't free up the accounts since he did have living kin. And that really galled the elderly man. Not Potter kin, to be sure. But that Dursley spawn was his cousin through their mothers and so if he should produce a magical offspring, said child could inherit the vast holdings the brat would leave behind. All of Potter's inheritance would go into lockdown if he should die before producing his own heir and there was nothing Albus could do about it as the Dursley boy was of his bloodline.

Maybe he should look into having that boy killed off before he could reproduce? That would end locking down the vaults should the Potter Brat die without issue. He did know where the brat was after all. And he was only a muggle so who was to notice? Muggles died all the time. What was one more? He could even go do it himself the next time the dark magic calling was too strong to resist.

Still that wouldn't solve the immediate problem of getting into the vaults Potter controlled. Since the Potter Will had been buried by him and never disclosed to the public or executed and the Pettigrew Will hadn't held any outstanding and ongoing debts as Peter had taken care of all of that before turning the Estate over to Potter, that meant only debts incurred through the execution of the Black and Lupin Wills could be covered. And neither of them covered payments to people Albus had hired or needed to bribe to keep things going his way.

The Lupin Will only allotted for a small stipend to be paid out to Remus. Nothing else because like Peter with the Pettigrew Estate, Remandus had taken care of all the obligations before he died making certain none of them were ongoing. He'd even left a separate account for the payment of Estate taxes to the Ministry. The only payment authorized naturally was ended when the recipient died and Albus couldn't even lie and say the man was still alive because the goblins knew better.

The Black Will had many obligations but he was told, all he could do was authorize payment via a simple yes or no checkmark. The goblins would then pay the obligation or not according to his authority. But no coin would filter into his hands should he choose not to pay something and he could be overruled in the matter by the other trustees of the Black account which they weren't obligated to inform him of or about.

He had tried every trick he knew to get the goblins to return things to the way they were but the nasty little beasts refused to listen to him. They kept saying Lady Tonguelash would have their heads if they didn't follow her direction. And when a goblin used that term it was no mere figure of speech. The little beasts meant it quite literally. Nor could he discover who this Lady Tonguelash was. The only thing he knew was the Lady was a goblin and he only knew that because of the name. He'd never heard of the goblins following the direction of one of their females before. But then he, like so many other people, didn't really pay all that much attention to creature societies. It mystified him but it was clear that until he could discover her identity and meet with her personally there wasn't going to be anything he could do to change things. And goblins were extremely protective of their females. So the chances of him getting a face to face with her were slim to none.

Nor could he discover the identity of the other trustees on the Black account to try and meet with them about authorizing funding to come from the Black accounts. He couldn't bribe or blackmail people if he didn't know who they were, after all.

So he was stuck, he reflected as he slowly walked along the halls back to his office and his warm comfortable bed. All he could do was go to the Bank each month and hope this would be the month the goblins stopped playing their games and gave him back his access to all that lovely gold. There was nothing else to do. It never occurred to him he should spend some time handling the mountain of parchment on his desk. All he wanted right now was a good hot soak in his bathing tub and then a good night's sleep.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. This chapter is more introspective but I felt you deserved to see inside Albus' mind. I hope it helps you understand why he isn't reacting as he should to the marks of the Triad. As always Happy Reading.**


	24. Learning to Deal

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Twenty-Four: Learning to Deal

The rest of the month of September and into early October passed relatively smoothly for the Castle inhabitants. Minerva had gone to Albus to try and force Harry to move back into Gryffindor Tower where he could begin to make inroads to making friends with the other boys in his year and sorting. She knew he wouldn't ever be friends with Mr. Weasely again but she hoped by being around the other three boys in his year he'd make friends with at least one of them. Now that she was awake and aware, she didn't like how very alone he was. It wasn't healthy to her way of thinking.

But that hadn't worked out for her. She'd been forced to give up the idea when Albus kept dismissing the issue of Harry's chambers and trying to get her to tell him why she'd let the Triad disfigure their faces. Since she didn't want to talk about them at all, she vacated his office as quickly as she could do so without seeming to be rude. Which had suited him fine as he didn't want Harry moved back into the dormitory. So Harry retained his private quarters.

Unknown to Minerva, Albus wouldn't even hear of allowing him to be moved back to the dormitory even if he hadn't been able to distract with the Triad's misadventure. He'd worked too hard to ostracize the boy in the school to take the chance it would unravel now. Especially since so much of his carefully thought out plans were unraveling around his ears. Marked faces or not, he still believed his chosen children would be more successful in their endeavors to ruin Harry's good name if the boy wasn't in the dormitories with the other children his age.

He knew if the boy were to move back into the dorm, his children would have to work harder because his naturally retiring personality would have the children questioning everything his children told them. They might even question the boy about the things his children told them. So Harry needed to stay separated from the general population where his children could reenforce the idea that he was a spoilt and pampered brat. Or just too dangerous for the good children to be around all the time.

Of course, because he was deep into the problem of how to regain control over Harry's vaults and finances, Albus had no idea Harry wasn't nearly as unpopular with the children as he had been before. For the first time since he'd allowed the boy to come to Hogwarts, the students were truly on his side.

Nor did he realize his three chosen patsies were actually the ones being ostracized by their peers. Or just exactly what the marks on their faces actually were. He still had the mistaken idea they did it to themselves in some misguided attempt to start a new fashion trend amongst their peer group. All popular teens tried it sooner or later and the trends were short lived if they ever got off the ground at all. The only successful trends were created unknowingly by people who honestly didn't care if others followed their lead or not.

Nor did he realize the triad were attempting to see him but being blocked at every turn by his staff. Even Minerva was blocking their efforts to go complaining to him about their disfigurement. But she was getting fed up with the Triad because they weren't listening to her and were still trying to openly lie to her. Not just about past events but also their current difficulties as well. Harry was still their go-to person to blame for every misfortune in their lives. It was both frustrating and infuriating.

Dumbledore had no idea it wasn't Harry the children saw as the child too dangerous to be around. That was Ginerva, Hermione and Ronald. Ginerva, mainly. Because she actually had gotten a child killed already. Even first through third years knew of the child she had gotten killed because they were introduced to him by their older classmates. Colin Creevey had returned to Hogwarts as a ghost. Like Myrtle, he hung out around the second floor girls necessary where he had been killed. And since he was of an age to Myrtle, he'd struck up a friendship with her. But he could often be found trailing along behind either Harry or his younger brother in the halls as well. He still liked to follow Harry around and still worshiped the ground Harry walked on. So he was easy to find when older students wanted to introduce a younger year to him. But neither Ron nor Hermione were trusted by the students either. Word of mouth had made certain every child knew how very many times the two seemed to have tried and failed to kill Harry or at least led him to a place where he would get killed. Every single student was doing their level best to let the Triad know they didn't agree or approve of their past behaviors.

Harry wasn't actually socializing with anyone, though. He was fed up with the hot and cold attitude of the wizarding world and didn't really care that now it was ok for people to be seen talking to him again. In his experience, they'd only turn on him as soon as the slightest whisper of wrongdoing was attached to his name and person. While he would return greetings and he did speak when he was spoken to, he deliberately didn't seek out anyone for any reason. It was too dangerous for him to do any such thing. He did know he had other enemies than just the Trio of Misfortune, as he thought of his former friends now. The last four years had shown him very clearly anyone he could be said to care for was at great risk and he didn't want to be responsible for anyone else getting hurt or killed. Not even the Trio of Misfortune deserved that fate.

Though he could easily see them leading the charge to hurt anyone else they thought he might be close to or care about. Especially now when they so clearly wanted revenge for what he'd done to them. After all, personal injury of others meant little to them so long as they achieved their private goals. And right now he had no doubts whatsoever as to what they wanted most in the world. He was well aware they still hadn't realized the extent of their own bad acts against him. They still truly believed He had done wrong to them. In their eyes, they hadn't done anything all that bad. Yes they'd taken his money without asking him first. But he had so much of it, what did it matter if they helped themselves to some of it? And besides, they needed it for Dumbledore's schemes. Because Hermione told them Dumbledore said what they were doing was ok and Ron and Ginny listened to and believed her while she listened to and believed the old man. Therefore, what they'd done to him had been ok while what he did to them wasn't.

So he kept to himself and studied for his classes and the owl exams he wanted to sit. He did speak to the twins to keep up with their business plans and discover what the Trio were up to now. But he insisted that be done away from prying eyes and ears. Such as meeting at a specific time in the Room of Requirement rather than somewhere more public in random off-chance meetings. They kept him informed of what schemes the Triad were plotting as well as how the Tower was treating them for those schemes.

And he did talk with Madam Pince but only when no one else was in the library to hear him do so. He'd begun conversing with her back in his third year when not even the Professors had cared for his personal safety. She was the one to introduce him to new more relevant courses of study and was a great help in understanding them.

He also began talking to Professor Snape though since he wasn't given to long, unnecessary conversations, that was usually just to ask for assistance with something he didn't understand related to Potions or Defense. Professor Snape had taken to coming by his room at least every couple of days and sometimes agreed to oversee his brewing efforts when he wanted to try making a potion he wasn't sure he understood the directions clearly enough. He tried to make sure all the potions he asked for oversight on were age appropriate but sometimes they were his own modifications of a current fifth year potion. The man was even doing some of his own brewing in the lab the Castle had provided for Harry's use. Which had surprised Harry to no end.

But he mostly asked him Defense related questions considering the Professor they had this year was no better than Lockhart had been. In fact, you could say she was worse. At least Lockhart had made mention of some spells. He couldn't do them and didn't pronounce them correctly. But they were mentioned. Usually in the correct context so a student could go look them up in order to learn them properly. But that was better than the teacher they had now.

Snape, however, was good at Defense. Harry had learned that in his second year with the dueling tournament thingy. So Harry would ask him any questions he had on the subject from the outside books he'd bought for himself when he saw what the required textbook for this year would be. Willard Slinkhard really was a worm of a man, just as his name implied he was, if he honestly thought every conflict could be talked out regardless of the reasoning behind said conflict. While it was a good idea to try negotiations and talking before engaging in open combat, some differences could only be solved by combat itself. This fool most likely had died, or would die, trying to talk himself out of a confrontation where only spell loaded wands would soothe the hurt feelings of the involved parties.

The Weasely twins were really his only indulgence when it came to people his own age since they'd never once turned their backs on him or accused him of things he neither did nor said. They were also the only ones who never voted to kick him off the quiditch team. Even going so far as to vote against the inclusion of Ron and Ginny because they knew the only reason why the two wanted on the team was to lord it over Harry that they'd taken his place. Plus, he believed they were well capable of taking care of themselves and watching their backs for unfriendly knives. Not to mention getting revenge against anyone stupid enough to try hurting them to get to him. And they had Lee, who'd never betray them, to watch their backs for them as well. So they were his eyes and ears in the tower as well as his business partner.

As for his school mates, a lot of them now felt incredibly guilty over the way they had treated him in past years. Several of the less scrupulous had thought to try and take advantage of the total lack of companions around him only to find themselves stopped cold by their year mates. No one was allowed to approach him too closely though they were allowed to speak to him. Those students who understood him best, Slytherin for the most part, were forming an impenetrable wall around him to hold the rest of the school at bay. Slytherins, more than any other tower, understood how damaging persecution for things you hadn't done or had any control over could be to a person. Especially persecution for doing the right thing and saving lives in the process. Harry had just been through four very intense years of exactly that treatment right under their noses and not one of the students acting as a part of his shield wall had any doubts as to just how damaging those years had been to him. They certainly didn't want their school mates to profit off it while his defenses were down. Each of them fully believed when Harry was ready for new friends he would let them know and maybe if they were lucky he'd want to choose them as a friend.

And since their Head of House had been heard openly defending Potter not once but twice, they felt justified in defending his right to privacy now. Without realizing it, the Slytherin students had declared Harry Potter an honorary Slytherin and were treating him as such. When he was ready for friends again, he'd let them know. Until then, the vultures could just back off and leave him alone. That the day might never come when Potter was ready for new friends, wasn't something they spoke about though they all knew it was a possibility. He wouldn't be the first Slytherin to choose no friends over fair-weather ones who'd only betray you when it suited them to do so. Potter's life had been hard and cruel to the extreme. He'd tried for four years here to make friends and a good impression only to get hurt and vilified for his efforts each and every time. And rumors had it that his life before coming here was no easier or better. So it was no wonder he was no longer trying. No longer seemed to want friends. Or care what people thought of him. Why should he?

Minerva took Severus seriously when he had chastised her over holding meetings with her lions who had or were failing to live up to the beliefs of her house. For the first time in years, she consciously set aside her duties as Deputy Headmistress to take a good hard look at her tower. She didn't like what she saw. Her students ran in small packs in the halls of the school. They reacted defensively to each and every harsh word or action they perceived as directed against them. And the Weasely twins were openly running around the Castle pulling pranks on students who had maligned their tower mates in the halls. Which strongly suggested all the Gryffindor students went to them over conflicts in the school.

And when her students lost points or received a detention, none of them did more than shrug their shoulders and dismiss the issue. Oh, they'd do the detention they were given but it was clear to her they didn't truly feel punished. Rather they acted as if the intervening adults' words and actions had been expected. So did the children they'd been in a conflict with. No wonder the twins were now targeting the Professors, she thought. They were getting pay back for her students.

Somewhat ashamed, she realized not one student ever came to her. Even when she made it clear she was waiting for them to do so. Sadly, she thought it might be because of how she'd reacted when Mr. Potter was being targeted in the halls. More than once she'd witnessed a Professor come upon a conflict between a group of her children and other students. She'd listened as the adult favored the children from the tower not Gryffindor when her children hadn't either begun the conflict or broken any rule. It seemed to Minerva, it wasn't only Severus that had a problem being fair to Gryffindor students. She wasn't sure just yet what to do about the situation but she knew she'd have to find something. Because this couldn't continue.

One situation she did know how to handle was the Trio of Misfortune, as they were being openly called now by the student body. She took to holding weekly meetings with them, which was the only time she had free when they weren't in a class or otherwise occupied. Usually with a well-earned detention. Because they were earning them. They were the only Gryffindors actually earning each and every detention and point loss they were being given right now. None of the teachers were handing them out unfairly or for petty reasons as far as she could tell. Not even Snape. She was trying to get them to understand their new status in the school and that their branding was their own fault. That they were on the Professor short list right now because of what those marks of their told the Professors the Triad had done in the past. If they hadn't been so arrogant as to actually believe they could do exactly as they pleased without consequence, it never would've happened and they probably wouldn't be getting into so much trouble now. If they wanted the detentions to end, they needed to begin obeying all the school rules and handing in their assigned homework on time and at the correct length.

But she was also coming to see the Triad hadn't ever been as innocent as they had claimed to be when they'd been telling her the trouble they got into was Harry's doing. Their misbehavior that they were getting into trouble over now, was too ingrained for them. She knew the detentions they were being given now were for things they were actually doing though they always claimed otherwise. Ronald had even tried to tell her the detention he'd received for not having his Potions homework was actually Harry's fault as Harry had stolen it from him right before class. And then turned it in as his own work. And Snape had said nothing! Oh, he hadn't said Harry's name but who he meant had been clear enough. She hadn't needed to even ask Severus about that as his face had swollen up so much, it was impossible to miss. But that lie was typical of the children. Not to mention it had been told to her before.

No, the detentions were well earned. For the way they were behaving. The way they'd always behaved. The things they were doing. The things they had always done. Things he had nothing to do with. Had more than likely never had anything to do with. And that stung her pride almost as much as discovering they had knowingly and openly lied to her. Made a fool out of her to her peers. To the school.

All they wanted to do was whine and complain while trying to pin their poor behavior on Harry. All the while they'd be begging her to force Harry to undo the spell that he'd cast on them. To punish him for doing it. To expel him or get him arrested for what he'd done to them. They refused to believe he couldn't remove it even when she had forced each of them to read the relevant portion of the booklet that dealt with their rune marks out loud. After that meeting they'd tried forcing her to take them to Professor Dumbledore so he could order Harry to remove the marks for them deciding that the only reason she wouldn't order them removed was because she lacked the authority.

She tried turning their arrogance against them. She'd pointed out over and over again how Ms. Granger at least should have realized they were being skillfully led into a trap since it seemed she had led Mr. Potter into more than one trap herself. Which was as close as Minerva was willing to come right now to admitting she now knew the children were guilty of trying to destroy their classmate. Not only should she have seen the trap and taken a step back herself but she should have taken the other two back with her. Or at least warned them to get away. Something, she reminded them all, Hermione had complained about Harry not doing each and every year when asked why she was part of the end-of-the-year fiascos.

But all three were too immersed in feeling sorry for themselves to hear her or realize the end of their torment was in their own hands. It had been three weeks since their branding and none of them had yet reached the point of being willing to admit they needed to take responsibility for themselves. No matter who told them their release was in those very same hands.

Of course, she did her best to keep both Albus and Molly Weasely from hearing of the Library Incident while she waited for the children to emerge from their self-pity. Because the last thing she wanted was Howler Molly ranting again in the Great Hall or Albus trying to lay a guilt trip on Harry for his actions against the trio. She most definitely didn't want to try and explain to Albus the spell used hadn't been dark magic. That was a nightmare conversation she preferred to delay for as long as possible. Forever if she could. Because she did know Albus well enough to know he'd label it a dark magic spell and try to make everyone believe it had been even if the booklet made it clear it wasn't. And he'd definitely try to punish Mr. Potter for using it against the Triad. Simply because he too favored them.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. This chapter is short I know. But it's a filler so what can I say. Next chapter (heehee) detentions from hell. Happy Reading.**


	25. Trio of Misfortune

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Twenty-Five: Trio of Misfortune

But the Trio were enjoying their pity party. The Headmaster had left the Castle again on the first of October before the Triad had gotten to see him about the evil Harry had done to them but they were still hopeful he'd handle the situation for them when he returned this time. They were still of the opinion that Harry had done them a grievous wrong and was being allowed to get away with it. Simply because of who he was. But they'd finally come to realize the only person who would make Harry remove his mark was the Headmaster. They knew there was a good chance he wouldn't actually punish the brat for it but he would make him remove it and apologize to them for even thinking he had the right to do it in the first place.

Naturally Hermione had suggested they keep a running tally of all the wrongs Harry did to them until they got to see the Headmaster. That way he'd be more likely to understand why they wanted him punished for what they were being forced to deal with right now. Ron and Ginny agreed and so Hermione had dedicated an entire roll of parchment to keeping a list for them. Because naturally she was better at it than either Ron or Ginny would be.

Hermione really wanted to think of a way to make Harry remove it before they had to explain the marks to the Headmaster. She knew he wouldn't be happy about them or what they'd been doing when Harry had marked them. For the life of her though, Hermione couldn't figure out a method to make him remove it or get anyone to punish him for his transgression. Nor could she harangue on him over it until he got tired of listening to her like she usually did. He no longer sat near her in classes and wasn't housed in the tower with them. And though they knew where his room was, they couldn't get near the place.

It went without saying she never saw him outside of classes since all three of the Triad were forbidden from going anywhere near his rooms. They'd been told that by Professor McGonagal after she'd discovered they'd lied to her the morning after their marking. So they couldn't even sneak off to go bug him in his cell. Oh she knew exactly where it was. They all did. Albus had told Ron and her back in their second year when he wanted to see if Harry was ready to follow orders yet. And they'd told Ginny the following year. Harry was a creature of habit. It'd never occur to him to change his room. Heck, he never even tried to change the password so why would he change his cell for a real room? She had no idea the Castle had done that for him.

But try as they might, they couldn't get close to Harry's room. Stepping a foot into the hallway his room was in, seemed to set off a trigger that would bring a member of the staff down on them. Which usually led to another detention. Just for being in the hall. Or talking to someone. Or not talking to someone. Anything they could think of. Hermione was getting really tired of being in detention. Never in her life had she ever gotten into so much trouble at a school.

None of the teachers would let her or Ron sit next to Harry in classes either if they actually managed to come late enough to a class where he had arrived ahead of them. It was usually Ron who tried that since Hermione had an aversion to sitting in the back of her classes and that was where Harry always sat now. That was where the goof-offs sat. The only serious students who sat in the back of the room were the late arrivals and to Hermione, they weren't really serious students since if they were, they wouldn't have been late.

Harry had a seat in the back of each classroom and the teachers seemed determined none of the students would sit near enough to bother him in it. Ron had even tried to pass Harry a note threatening bodily harm if he didn't remove his mark one day on the way into their Potions class. Professor Snape had swooped down on it where it lay being ignored by Harry. He'd read it aloud and given Ron a detention for threatening another student. He'd then harassed Ron so badly Ron had walked out of the class with a weeks worth of detentions and Gryffindor one hundred points lighter. Needless to say there had been more grief to come when the rest of Gryffindor found out.

And every single classroom had enough seating that there was no reason for any student to need to sit next to him. Not even Professor Trelawney would let Ron sit next to Harry and she was a dingbat of a teacher. If they tried to follow him outside of classes, the other students got in the way or a teacher came by and gave them a detention for loitering. Or something. No word of explanation from them was ever listened to or believed.

And that only served to convince her more than ever the Wizarding World was outdated and needed to be revitalized before it imploded on itself. Because in her eyes it was only because of her blood status that no one would help her force Potter to do as she wished and remove his awful brand from her face. She refused to understand she had done him wrong. Because Hermione Granger was never wrong. She never did anything bad or against the rules. She didn't deserve this treatment. And he was only getting away with it because she was a muggleborn.

Nor were either of the afflicted Weasely's much help. At this point in time, all Ginerva wanted to do was cry for her Mother while Ron wanted to rant and rave about the injustice of it all. Of course, due to the nature of the punishment, he couldn't actually get far in his ranting before he was left gasping for breath with a very swollen face. But that was mainly because he had long ago worked all his lies about Harry into his rants so the runes would react when he got going. But Ron was like Hermione in that he refused to believe he had done anything wrong. He insisted that Harry had done him wrong by daring to mark him as he had. Because he was a pureblood and outranked Harry who was only a halfblood.

Sometimes Ginny would stop crying long enough to suggest she go seduce Potter into removing the brands. That would set off Ron again as there was no way he wanted to think about his pureblood sister seducing a pathetic half-blood. Bloody rich halfblood or not. Hermione would simply roll her eyes and send the redheaded girl a sneer because Hermione knew Ginny was still trying to trap Harry. Snootily she'd tell her, "You can't marry him any more, Ginny. That door closed when he marked you and told the whole school you're his property. So even if you did succeed in seducing him, it'd do you no good. No one would make him marry you. All anyone would say is, he was taking advantage of his property rights."

That would set Ron off again and send Ginny into a fresh burst of tears. But it was also the truth and Hermione knew it. So did Ginny if she was honest with herself. Eventually the girl would get it through her head. But honestly Hermione was much more concerned with herself right now. One thing she knew for certain. She could NOT return home to her parents with this rune on her face. They definitely wouldn't understand and unlike a majority of this world she knew her mother could read runes. It had been a pastime hobby for her in her college days. That meant her Mother would know exactly what her mark said and she would tell Hermione's dad. Both of them would be very angry with her.

But Hermione was a strong believer in right and wrong and in justice coming to those who deserved it and were willing to work for it. Especially when the wrong in question had been done to her person. This meant spending hours researching just exactly what Harry had done to her and the siblings. Because there was no way she believed what Professor McGonagal had told them. Judgement magic didn't exist. There was Light magic and there was Dark magic. And what wasn't known as Light Magic therefore had to be Dark Magic.

So she spent hours haunting the Library stacks reading book after book and passage after passage trying to find information she'd already been given. And then more hours late at night in the tower working out just how exactly he had crossed the line and why it was up to her to see to it he didn't get away with his crime.

She firmly believed he had wronged her and, without any true parental figures in his life willing to teach him right from wrong, it was up to her to do so. And of course it went without saying that when she finally figured out what he'd done to her and got him to admit it, she'd need to punish him. Because behavior like this couldn't go unpunished. No good parent allowed their responsibility to get away with doing obviously bad things. Not for a second did she stop to consider she wasn't Harry's parent or guardian and therefore had no right or responsibility for teaching him anything. She certainly didn't have the right to go around punishing him for things she believed he did wrong.

Hermione had convinced herself Harry had committed a crime of the darkest nature against them as a part of his descent into darkness to equal the darkness known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and therefore deserved to be punished for it. Not for a second did she think it was this Judgmental magic the teachers said it had been. She'd never once caught any sort of a reference to that branch of magic so therefore it didn't exist. The teachers were just saying it did because they didn't want to admit the truth. Harry had gone dark and used Dark Magic against them.

She fully believed it had to be Dark Magic Harry had used because she hadn't heard him say the name of the spell. That made it a wordless spell and she knew all wordless spells were dark magic. The Headmaster had told her most the wordless spells fell into the category of Dark Magic because it made it easier for them to get away with being dark and hurting others. If they used verbal words to trigger the release of their dark magic, then it would be a simple matter to counter them and cure their victims of the effects as well as prove said caster had slipped too far away from the light and intervention was needed to save them.

But given who Harry was compared to who his victims were, she was also reasonably certain the rest of the Wizarding World wouldn't choose to punish him at all. She knew Harry was right when he claimed he outranked them even if both her Weasely friends disagreed. Halfblood or not, to the Wizarding World, Harry Potter was practically untouchable. That meant it was up to her and his other victims to handle things appropriately. Because no one would bother to try and get justice for them. They just weren't important enough to risk having him turn on whomever tried to intervene. Not at this date in time anyway.

But that also opened a door for them to deal with the situation themselves. Since he had assumed he had the right to punish them himself when he was in no manner a person of authority over them, they could punish him as well. All they had to do was discover a method of doing so. And that meant spending some time in the library doing research. As the only one capable of properly researching anything, she knew it would fall to her to find a spell they could use against him. Something that would remain with him and grow stronger the longer he refused to admit his wrongdoing and lift his curse from them. And maybe when he finally removed his curse they'd remove theirs from him. Maybe. After they were sure he'd gotten the message, of course. He couldn't be allowed to go around thinking he had the right to strike out at them any time he felt like it after all. They were his masters. He wasn't theirs.

The tricky part would be finding a spell or curse that wouldn't trigger the effects of the branding that she could use against him. Because just as with the research, she knew she would have to be the one to cast their punishment spell on Harry. Neither Ginny nor Ron were as capable as she was and therefore it was likely neither would be able to cast any spell she discovered to do the job. But she'd still need their help to enact it. Given the way the school was behaving, she'd never be able to get close enough to him without their assistance.

Maybe they could even hoodwink Professor McGonagal into helping them waylay Harry long enough to cast their punishment on him. The Professor did seem to still care about them. And she was upset over their branding. She knew Harry had been wrong to brand them as he had and they had a right to be upset with him over it. She just couldn't help them force him to remove it. Because she wasn't strong enough and didn't have the authority.

Knowing the Professor, the only thing she would ask was the nature of the spell the three wished to use. Hermione wasn't worried about choosing a spell to use. She knew any spell she found would be a Light orientated spell. Simply because a Dark spell wouldn't work for her. Therefore if she could cast it, it had to be Light orientated. And of course she'd practice it before asking the Professor to help her contain Harry.

Professor Dumbledore had told her dark magic wouldn't work for anyone who wasn't inherently dark by nature. What he didn't tell her was that all living, thinking creatures were dark by nature. One had to choose to be light. It wasn't inherent in a person though all people thought themselves to be light natured and only wanting good things for themselves and those they cared for. She was too sheltered to understand all people were inherently selfish. They wanted good things for themselves and those they cared about, true enough. But they didn't particularly care if they got those good things through the misfortune of someone else. But to Hermione, because Professor Dumbledore said Dark Magic wouldn't work for those who weren't dark, that meant she couldn't use it. Because she definitely didn't see herself as a dark witch.

Not for a second did she stop to consider how the Dark side of magic got new recruits if it only worked for those who were already dark to begin with. Or if the only people who could use dark magic spells were those who were already dark by nature, how then could just using a dark magic spell make you evil? It stood to reason if no light magic person could use dark magic than those who did use it, were born that way. But Hermione didn't realize that because she never stopped to think about it and she was too sheltered and cherished by her family to understand the world wasn't black and white.

Between their classes, the weekly meeting with Professor McGonagal, homework and countless unfair detentions from Professor Snape as well as the other teachers, they had very little spare time though. And that made it hard for Hermione to find the time she needed for her research. Which was why her homework had slacked off. She was slacking on it to try and make more time for research. Not that she had much time for homework any more anyway.

It had been surprising to them to find themselves being given more and more detentions and having to serve them either in the dungeons doing manual labor with Argus (Ron), in the kitchens with the elves doing more manual labor (Hermione)or with Hagrid still doing manual labor (Ginny). Unknown to them, Minerva had actually had to go to the staff and request they not be given a detention during the hour she had set aside to meet with them to try and get them to understand their new social position and to leave them at least an hour per day for homework completion. Naturally, none of them were actually getting all their homework completed in that hour making for a lot of late nights. So all three were suffering from a decided lack of sleep to add to their troubles.

The elves didn't allow Hermione to get on her soapbox and preach to them about how they should desire their freedom any more than they would've allowed Ron to spend his detention time eating. She was put to work doing the dirtiest, most disgusting job the elves could come up with. And they could come up with some very dirty jobs. The more she preached at them, the dirtier the job they assigned her the next time. But again she wasn't making the correlation.

Hermione definitely wasn't used to it as she was the cherished only daughter of mildly affluent parents. While they didn't have any servants, her Mum did have a maid service that came in once a week to clean the house and her Dad got a yard service to come mow the lawns and trim the hedges, driveway and walkways. Her Mum did all the cooking unless her Dad wanted to barbeque or they ordered out. All Hermione had ever had to do along that line was maybe throw together a sandwich or cut up a bowl of fruit and pick up the clutter in her room.

Not even at Hogwarts had she been exposed to real house cleaning or manual labor. Any detention she'd incurred in previous years had been spent helping a Professor grade the homework of lower years or aiding Madam Pince in tending to the Library. Well, except for the Forest of Death one and that was more Harry's fault than anyone's. If he hadn't gotten them caught by forgetting his cloak, Professor McGonagal wouldn't have given the detention at all. But he had and so she'd to punish all of them equally. But even that detention hadn't been manual labor. All she'd done was walk alongside Neville and Hagrid.

It further surprised them to discover Argus, the crotchety squib caretaker of the Castle, actually liked Harry personally. He claimed to feel sympathy for him for all he had been forced to deal with as a student here, which none of them believed. He was just a mean-spirited old man jealous of the students for having the gift of magic when he didn't. It never occurred to them to wonder how he could be here at the Castle if he wasn't possessed of magic himself. Though all three of them knew the Castle wasn't visible to those not blessed to have magic of their own.

But because of his jealousy, he made their detentions with him as nasty and hard as he possibly could. And no matter what chore he assigned them to do, he always complained about the level of work they did on it. Telling them how Harry was much better at the work than they were and sneering at them for thinking they were better than he was in any way. Luckily, the girls only got detentions with him when the elves and Hagrid were too busy to supervise it.

Sometimes though they all had a detention with the House Elves whom all three knew were very fond of Harry Potter. He had saved Dobby from a very cruel Master and made certain Winky also got saved when her former master set her free for something outside of her control. Harry had come to the kitchens as often as he could when Winky had first been released from service to her old Masters nd Dobby had told him of her plight. He had spent a lot of time talking to her and helping her learn to deal with her new status as a free elf. As a result both Winky and Dobby adored Harry Potter and as they loved him, the other elves did as well. Winky still wasn't happy being a free-elf but at least she was willing to live with it.

At first, the trio hadn't been worried about detentions with the elves. They'd thought their time with them would be a relaxing as all three knew House Elves weren't allowed to do anything that might cause harm to their human masters. And all humans were the masters of elves. So they thought they'd us the time to plot their revenge on Harry and a way to get themselves back in good flavor with their classmates and teachers. They were wrong.

The elves made it clear they saw them as bad children. Bad children who needed to be punished. They actually made them clean rooms in the Castle no one ever used or visited in years. Ron told them that's what Argus had him doing too. They didn't even know where the rooms actually were because the elves would hand them the cleaning products they needed and then pop them to the filthy room and leave them there to do the work. Without their wands! And since none of them could do wandless magic, that meant they had to clean it the muggle way.

Ron had actually tried to walk away from it the first time they'd done it to him, only to find both the door and the window were locked and wouldn't unlock with any unlocking spell he knew. Not that, without his wand, he could do any of the unlocking spells he knew of. Nor could he manually unlock the room they'd taken him to. There literally wasn't a lock on the door or window he could see and therefore touch to unlock.

Nor did they work together to clean one specific room. Each teen was taken to a different room and left there alone to do the work. They'd only be allowed to leave when the time expired or the room was clean and the elf would pop back to pick them up and return them to the hall outside of the kitchens. And if it was close to curfew where they wouldn't make it back to the tower on time, how was that the fault of the elves? If Filch was standing there waiting with watch in hand, and followed them on their way to the tower making sure they didn't dare to run for it or venture into the secret passages to save time; Again. How was that their fault? If someone, Professor Snape, intercepted them on their hurried walk back to their Tower, again how was that the fault of the elves or the custodian? Needless to say they were racking up a lot of detentions for being out after curfew. And since they didn't have the benefit of Harry's map or cloak any more there was nothing they could do to avoid them.

If they finished cleaning the room but still had time to serve, they'd be put to work turning table scraps and food scrapings into mulch for Hagrid's vegetable beds. This was a chore all three of them absolutely hated because the elves didn't allow for the use of tools in the process. In order to turn the left over bits of food into mulch they had to add wood pulp, hay, ash from the fireplaces, used straw, and buckets of stinky fertilizer none of them wanted to think about to the vat. The mixture had to be blended together manually which involved climbing into the tub minus their shoes and socks and stomping on it the way wine makers used to mash grapes. Nor could they avoid having to put their socks and shoes back on their soiled feet as they did have to walk through the Castle to reach their tower after the detention. And since the elves would do nothing more than hand them a damp cloth to clean-up with, they came out of those detentions covered in filth and reeking of all manner of disgusting things in desperate need of a good, long, cleansing shower. With Filch always waiting for them, there was no way any of the three would give him anything like deliberately soiling the Castle to assign them a new detention over.

What they hadn't realized was Hogwarts House Elves didn't work for the students. They worked for the Castle or for an individual adult in the Castle personally and every adult had at least one elf that answered specifically to them. Also Wizarding history was replete with tales of House Elves being the child care providers for their masters. This meant they could indeed deliver discipline to misbehaving students so long as the adult they answered to specifically gave them permission to do so. But because Hermione was a muggleborn and the Weasely clan had never owned an elf, the triad didn't know those stories were actually true.

And in this case, even the Castle was in favor of the Triad being disciplined harshly for their actions against Harry. Even Harry had a story of a House Elf harming a person to protect Harry personally. The elf that featured in his story personally hated all three of them with a passion. All three of them were almost positive Dobby was behind the disagreeable detentions they were currently serving. They were right. He was.

So no. Detentions with the house-elves wasn't fun. But there wasn't anything they could do about it until people woke up and realized they were the victims here. For all three, these detentions were just one more debt Harry owed them.

What spare time the three did have, they needed to do the massive amounts of homework they were being given. It seemed word had spread amongst the teachers how Harry was subsidizing the educations of the two Weasely children and they were now determined that his money wouldn't be wasted. The children would either buckle down and earn their patronage or they'd be dropped from the roster as failures. Tolerance was at an all time low when it came to their class work, essays, quizzes and exams. They piled the homework on them to make up for their slack in previous years. And considering all they really had was an hour each day, it was understandable they were falling way behind. Even the weekends didn't seem to give more time for homework as most those days were being filled with run-over detention time.

Nor did the Professors care Hermione wasn't one of the scholarship students. She too had taken coin from Mr. Potter. From what Harry had said during the Library Confrontation, she had tried to sabotage him in the classroom by making his completed homework unacceptable for turning in. That made her just as disagreeable a student as the Weasely duo. So the teachers were holding her to the same impossibly high standards as they held the Weasely duo. That they'd held Harry to in previous years. No longer could Hermione turn in work that meandered all over the place while barely touching on the assigned topic and was far longer than the asked for length. No longer did they even bother to read anything she wrote that was over the specified essay length. Each teacher measured out the assigned length of her turned in work and then only graded what she'd written to that point. Every inch beyond that length was a deduction on the assignment. And they were meticulous about it. Even if the cut-off line was right in the center of a line of writing, they would draw a red line through it and not count it as a part of the assignment to be graded. For the first time in her educational time, Hermione Granger was receiving failing grades. She didn't know what to do. How to react. She wasn't used to failing at schoolwork.

Nor could Ron skate by with essays that just barely met the length requirements while being sloppy, disjointed, incorrect or incomplete and full of grammatical errors. Now that his work was being fairly graded, he found himself receiving marks far lower than what was acceptable for a Hogwarts student in good standing. And his grades hadn't been all that good before this so he was failing in every subject now. More than once he found himself being assigned a mandatory Remedial Study Hall over the weekends when no classes were held. And if he already had a detention for that time period, he had to choose which to go to knowing full well not going to the other would only result in yet another detention.

Unlike Hermione, Ron knew exactly how to react. He blamed Harry. If Harry hadn't reminded the Professors of their scholarship, the Professors wouldn't be acting like they were. If Harry hadn't decided to pull their funding, they wouldn't have confronted him in the Library. And if Harry had done what he was told and removed the marks he'd put on them, this would've all blown over by now. Yes, this was all Harry's fault.

Because Ron was such a poor student, Minerva had to actually draw up a weekend schedule for him just so he could take part in the Remedial aide Hogwarts offered their failing students as he was being given Remedial Study Hall for all of his classes. Including his electives. It surprised her to discover even Sybil Trelawney had assigned him a Study Hall. But now that Ron's mark forbid him from doing or saying anything harmful to or about Harry, he found his usual topics for her assigned essays impossible to write or orate. Naturally, it never occur to him to simply substitute Harry's name for his own to complete the assignments.

Each subject had it's own room in the Castle for it's Study Hall and a time on Saturday and Sunday when the room would be open. This was to give Mr. Filch and the elves time to clean and restock the normal classrooms for the teachers as well as the Remedial rooms since the Study Hall rooms were only open during those periods because even Professors had other things they liked to do besides try and hammer new knowledge into stone dense children's heads.

Study Halls were overseen by the teacher of the correlating class and commonly referred to as Remedial sessions. They were open to any student having a particularly difficult time in any of the offered classes. But for some students, like Ron, they were mandatory because their grades had fallen below acceptable standards. Especially those students who were yet to sit their Owls. Because there literally no job available in the Wizarding World one could get without their Owls. So the Hogwarts staff did everything they could to ensure that all their students would pass at least those exams.

In these Study Halls, bright students could earn extra credit by assisting those who attended on their assignments. Each student assigned to the Halls would be helped to redo their assignments for the previous week while being coached on the assignments for the upcoming week. Needless to say as soon as the bright students saw Ron enter the classroom, most found other students to assist. Those who didn't, drew straws to see who would work with him. No one wanted to. And not just because of his part in the years drama. Ron had a reputation thanks to all his arguments with Hermione. As a result, everyone knew he hated doing homework and therefore working with him was sure to be a trial wherein he was almost certain to try and get them to do the work for him. Just because they already knew how to do it and he clearly didn't. As a result whomever drew the short straw would always make the experience as unenjoyable as they possibly could for Ronald. Only Professor Snape would take on Ron personally. The rest of the teachers didn't bother.

While Ron's grades had never been all that high, Ginny had been doing relatively well. Hermione's bragging about being the smartest witch of their year hadn't been idle boasting either. But now all three were finding themselves hard pressed just to keep their grades above failing. Naturally, they were at the bottom of their class standings. If something wasn't done soon, none of them would pass any of their classes and all of them blamed Harry for it. Nor was Professor Snape the only teacher to openly disparage the two Weaselys for being scholarship students unworthy of and ungrateful to their patron.

Ron and Ginny had both sent messages off to Molly complaining of their disfigurements and subsequent treatment by their previously sympathetic teachers but the twins, who knew their habits well, had intercepted them so Molly had never gotten them. The twins had no use for the younger Trio and were doing everything in their power to cover Harry's back making sure all the kids heard the real truth of what had been occurring over the years. For the first time, the twins had the willing help of their tower mates in creating and planning their pranks so long as the intended target was one of the Trio. Even Slytherin children were coming up to them to report things they had seen or heard one or more of the Trio doing which they thought deserved recompense. And it really didn't matter to the students if the one the trio was targeting at the time was Harry Potter or not. Nor did it matter to the twins. Payback really was a bitch and right now she was screaming their names.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading.**


	26. New Insights

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Twenty-Six: New Insight

Harry, however, simply went about his day exactly as he had before the branding of his three servants. He paid them no mind no matter how often they tried to corner him to order him to undo what he had done to them. Which happened at least once per class he shared with them. Which, given he had taken the same electives as Ron, was all his classes.

Regardless of where he slept in the Castle, his tie was still red and gold so his classes were on the Gryffindor schedule. That gave the Triad nearly full access to him on the weekdays. But thanks to the diligence of the Professors, and the wall of students that surrounded him in the Halls, neither Ron nor Hermione could do much more than glare and hiss at him and he was an old hand at ignoring that kind of behavior. He knew they hadn't yet come to understand what he'd done to them or why he'd done it. They were too stubborn to realize the truth this quickly. So he ignored them.

He figured it'd be closer to Christmas before they'd stop being too angry to think clearly. And then it'd be the two Weaselys who'd figure it out first. Granger would never admit she deserved her mark. But the two Weaselys had been raised in this world and they understood magic in a way Granger didn't. So they'd come to their senses along about the time their classmates began to talk about going home for the holidays. And that's when they'd start realizing getting rid of their marks was in their hands. Not his. Ginerva would realize it first. And she'd talk Ron around.

But Granger would never get it because it meant admitting she'd done wrong. And was wrong. In her entire life, Hermione Granger had never had to admit she was wrong about anything. Nor had she ever had to admit she'd done something that did or could have hurt another. She didn't know how to admit such a thing. Which explained why she was haunting the Library now trying to find a curse she could use on him to force him to do her bidding. He'd told her she wouldn't be able to raise her hand against him ever again. But she didn't believe him because she didn't think she deserved her mark.

Of course, he had willing protection in the form of Professor Snape, who always seemed to be nearby whenever Harry was out of his room with Draco at his side, willing and able to distract the triad from Harry, allowing him to escape their trap if they'd managed to set one for him.

Of course, Dobby was always watching as well as he wouldn't even consider that his Harry Potter didn't need someone to watch his back for him. Even Winky was usually somewhere close at hand. Both elves knew they were only waiting for, and working in the Castle until, their Mr. Harry Potter Sir grew up and finished his schooling. Then they would bond with him and be proper elves again. He'd promised to take them both on even if he didn't think he'd have much for them to do. They knew better because they knew their Harry Potter Sir was heir to many Estates and Estates had houses. So their Harry Potter Sir had many houses even if he didn't know it yet. All of which would need much cleaning after having sat empty for so many years. So with all that protection and willing aid, Harry was content with his life for the moment.

Harry didn't fool himself into thinking Snape's and Draco's presence meant they actually liked Harry, though. Well, Draco might but chances were good he just saw an opportunity to add Harry's name to his list of influential people he could call on for backing or favors in the future when they were no longer students at school. With Snape, he knew it was more due to the fact that Snape didn't wish to have the death or serious injury of a student occurring at the school while he was engaged as a teacher here. Bad enough Colin had died and then Cedric at the end of last year. But Cedric's death wasn't school related and there had been nothing he could've done to prevent it. In fact, Harry wasn't even sure how Cedric had died. All he knew was he heard him cry out and then saw the sparks shoot up from what he assumed was Cedric's location in the maze. Nor could anyone have prevented Colin from dying.

However, Harry knew there was no way the Professor was willing allow it to happen again if he could stop it. And since Harry seemed to be the one Death was stalking the most, he'd decided to shadow him as much as possible. Added to that was the purpose everyone seemed to believe he had been born to fulfill and how the world would react if something happened to prevent him from fulfilling that purpose. It never even occurred to him the man might be trying to show Harry he could trust him because Harry had given up on trusting people. He trusted no one.

But Harry was only partially correct in why the Professor was always around him but he was right on the money regarding Draco. Draco did like Harry but he was far more interested in what claiming Harry as a friend could gain him in the future. Because that's what Slytherins did. They made useful connections and hoped true friendship would grow from those connections in time as they grew older and interacted more.

But the Professor was different. The fact was, Professor Snape did have some degree of liking for Harry. The child had proven to be stronger, smarter and more enduring than anyone had given him credit for being. And any child who could go through what Harry had been forced into over the last four years while not allowing anyone to see they understood perfectly what was happening to them as well as why, was worthy of his respect and protection. In the weeks after the Library Incident, Professor Snape had come to realize not every Slytherin actually wore the Green and Silver or resided in the dungeons. Harry Potter, the epitome of everything Gryffindor, was also Slytherin to the core.

That fact that he actually had his own rooms in the Castle that no one outside of himself was actually aware of proved that fact. Minerva still believed he was staying in the room Albus had assigned to him back in his second year. She didn't know the room had altered itself. And he'd heard the rumors from Granger and crew about how Potter's room was nothing more than a prison cell by muggle standards which told him they didn't realize the room had changed either. But Severus knew better. Students, no matter who they were, didn't get staff quarters at Hogwarts. Yet Harry had one. Staff quarters perfectly suited to his needs and decorated in colors and furnishings suited, he was certain, to Harry's own particular tastes instead of just Gryffindor colors. And that was Slytherin. Pure Slytherin.

After the Library Confrontation, Professor Snape had started reviewing what he thought he knew of the boy and had discovered that while, on the surface, his past actions and behavior had indeed been loud and abrasive enough to please any true Gryffindor, there had been an underlying current in each incident that screamed Slytherin. The brat also studied enough to cause any true Ravenclaw to turn green with envy and retained the knowledge his studies granted him so he could turn said knowledge to his own benefit when circumstances required it. And that too was pure Slytherin. He also studied anything and everything that caught his fancy, class related or not. Since Severus now knew for a fact Madam Pince was constantly on the lookout for new material for him in relation to esoteric subjects Severus knew for a fact no other student in the school had even heard of, it seemed to him Mr. Potter was every inch a Ravenclaw.

In fact, the only house the boy didn't seem to share the qualities of was Hufflepuff, the House of the Loyal. But then, he didn't exactly have anyone to be loyal to, now did he. They were also said to be the house of the hard worker though and he now knew for a fact Potter was a very hard worker. What's more, he'd do the work he was told to do without complaints no matter how unfair or unjust the work detail was. And Severus knew there had been plenty of times in the past when the brat had been given detentions he hadn't truly earned just because of the antic of the Triad. But there was no denying he set himself one of the hardest courses of self-study Severus had ever seen a student pursuing. So maybe he was a true Puff as well.

Upon reaching that conclusion Severus found himself thinking of Harry as Hogwarts Child rather than the Potter child, Gryffindor's Golden Boy, Dumbledore's Pet or any of the other unflattering names people had stuck on the brat over the years. And maybe, just maybe, that was why he had his own staff quarters rather than a regular room now. Because Hogwarts itself saw him as being her child rather than just a Gryffindor.

Because of that, he discovered he wasn't at all adverse to thinking well of the teen. For the first time since the School Board and the Ministry liaison had named him the Guardian/Protector of the brat, Severus didn't resent spending his limited free time trailing after the brat as he went from class to Great Hall or Library or back to his rooms. It helped that the brat had a lab he could use to keep up with his brewing schedule while still keeping track of him. But he knew the biggest part of the reason he'd changed his attitude on the brat was because of what he'd witnessed in the Library. No true Gryffindor could have plotted that scene and played it out to such perfection.

The life debt issue was a non-starter as far as Snape was concerned because in his eyes he had merely been doing his duty all the times he had saved Harry from danger. Not only did he have a debt of his own to the Potter line for what James had done for him during their sixth year, but he also had a deathside promise to the memory of Lily Potter to protect her child as much as he was able. That was in addition to his teaching contract which stated he would do whatever proved necessary to protect the children currently studying or staying at the Castle. And all this was apart from his obligations as his Guardian/Protector. So he knew the child didn't owe him a life debt at all.

Nor did Potter owe one to Albus regardless of how many times the old man had tried to claim one. For the same reason. Headmaster or not, Albus was an adult under contract with Hogwarts. It was his duty to save the students should they find themselves in peril. Not that Albus had ever tried to save one of the school's students from whatever peril was stalking the halls. In fact, Albus was usually the method by which the danger had been allowed through the doors.

Regardless, because of the contract all the staff had signed before assuming their positions here, no life debt could be owed from student to any of the Hogwarts staff on the basis of a danger to life and limb brought into the school or on the school grounds. Even Slytherin Monster had been danger brought onto the grounds and within the Castle as Salazar Slytherin himself had brought the Basilisk to the Castle.

And Albus' reaction to that event was rather telling in and of itself. When Ms. Weasely had disappeared into the Chamber and the note on the wall was discovered, the only thing Albus had done was call her parents to the school and inform them of their daughters death. He'd made absolutely no effort whatsoever to go to her rescue. Though clearly Fawkes could have taken him straight to her at any time. Clearly he hadn't seen the girl as worthy of rescue. Either that or he didn't want to risk himself against the monster that had been terrorizing the school that year.

However, both those bratty girls did owe Potter such a debt. And Severus knew it. They were not covered by the contract as the staff was any more than Potter was. The question for him was whether or not Harry was aware of what that fact meant for him. He knew Potter knew the girls owed him a debt. But he wasn't sure if Potter knew what it meant. Though if he had discovered enough information to call for judgement against the trio, it'd be pretty stupid to assume he wasn't also well aware of what the life debt the girls owed to him meant. He'd have to question him and direct him to books that could tell him what to do to resolve them if he wasn't already knowledgeable on the subject. An unresolved debt could ruin a life and he knew without asking Potter didn't want those girls in his life any more.

And no matter how much Albus might like to negate those debts, no outside force could interfere in the matter. Magic decided who owed that debt. Not man. The girls owed Potter their lives whether they liked it or not and that was all there was to it. Albus could try all he wanted to make Potter turn the debts over to him or just forget about them altogether. But it wouldn't work. Because the girls had been saved from certain death by Potter. Not Albus. And magic had already established the connection between them. Had done so the instant Potter saved each girl.

But Severus knew for a fact Minerva didn't know of the incurred debts. And while the proud Scottish woman might have acknowledged Potter's right to call on magic for the judgement that now branded the Trio, that by no means said she felt he should've done so. She still felt he should've gone to a teacher before dealing with them himself. But all the same she knew he was within his rights, since the spell had worked and magic itself had judged the three. But that didn't mean she'd ever admit they deserved what he'd done to them. Not until something else occurred to show her it was no more than they'd rightfully earned and they'd never be the people she wanted them to be.

For that reason, even if she did know of the incurred life debts, she'd go out of her way to ensure Potter didn't find out about them, provided he didn't already know which she'd never believe he did. She fully believed he was ignorant and incapable of learning things Ms. Granger didn't spell out in simple words for him. Mainly, but not completely, because that's what Ms. Granger and Albus had told her. And that was while fully believing he was using his scar connection to the current Dark Lord to learn Dark Magic. The woman was impossible to get through to. Still, he'd cut her some slack. After all, four years of forming opinions based on what others told you couldn't be overcome in a few short weeks. Nonetheless, he planned to do his best to insure she never learned of the life debts the girls owed Potter. Or of the fact he was aware of said debts.

Regardless of what the Triad had done to Potter over the years, they were still her favored lions and she didn't like to admit they weren't the noble and staunch children she believed them to be. As far as Severus was concerned, the point was proven by the fact that he knew she was now holding weekly meetings with the three to try and help them deal with their situation when she'd never done so for Harry or any other student in her tower that had been having difficulties. In fact, she still wasn't doing it for the entirety of her tower. Only those three. And Severus knew there were others having difficulty in Gryffindor Tower.

If she had, that Creevey boy might still be alive and his brother wouldn't be so difficult to deal with now. Soon after Denis Creevey had arrived at Hogwarts, Severus had noticed a pattern in the child's behavior. He reacted very negatively to anyone who even hinted at negativity when mentioning his brother, Colin. He haunted the hall where Colin had died and researched the matter thoroughly trying to discover how and why his brother had died. He even made sure to linger in the area so as to talk to Colin daily. Just because Colin was here and capable of interacting with the living to a certain extent.

Because everyone believed Potter to be in some measure responsible for Colin's demise Denis had always hated Potter. Nothing Colin could say would stop Denis from hating Potter. Because the living blamed Potter for Colin's death. Like Myrtle, Colin had no clear memory of how he'd died. Just that he'd been following someone with long red hair and had looked into a pair of large yellow eyes. And there were rumors Denis had waylaid Potter more than a time or two taking out his frustrations upon Potter simply because of those rumors. He was a troubled boy and she should've been meeting with him on a regular basis to try and help him deal with his loss. But she wasn't. She never had.

But, because it was her personal favorite and Albus' toadies, she was now meeting at least weekly with Dumbledore's Triad. They'd always have her favor no matter what happened or who might prove themselves more worthy. Severus had noticed she still hadn't done anything to even attempt to mend her fences with Potter. Even though she claimed to understand now he hadn't done any of the things she'd blamed him for over the years. And the things he did do, he'd not only been pushed into doing by her precious threesome, but he'd only done in order to save lives.

But that shouldn't have, and actually didn't, surprise him. He knew she still believed all the trouble between him and the Marauders was solely his own fault and that they hadn't meant him any lasting or true harm. Even when they'd set him up to have a face to face meeting with the werewolf, she'd blamed him. They too, had been favorites of hers. In her eyes, this Potter was a severe disappointment as he wasn't the pure light wizard her memory told her both James and Lily had been during their lifetime. She'd never see him as being better than her chosen lions in anything.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. Short chapter I know but sometimes short is best I think. This is the last chapter for tonight. I'm exhausted. A couple more days to go and I think we'll reach the end of the story. I know we're past the halfway point now. See you all tomorrow if my computer holds out. Good Night.**


	27. Memories of Times Past

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Memories of Times Past

Severus knew, though, Minerva's belief was pure myth as both James and Lily had studied the Dark Arts with him when they'd discovered they'd graduate school and be expected to fight in the war the Dark Lord had launched against the Wizarding populace. Mainly because Albus had told James his parents had been killed by Death Eaters and James was determined to get payback for them. And where James led the other Marauders would follow. None of them, including James, had realized James was following only where Albus led him. And that was straight to an early grave. An early grave all of the Marauders were now filling.

Well at least James, Lily and Sirius were. Only Pettigrew and Lupin were left. The weakest of the Marauders. The cowards of the group. At least, Severus thought those two were still alive.

The morning after that full moon event of Potter's third year, Albus had announced the Marauders had died together making a final stand for what they'd valued in life. But Severus didn't believe him because his story of the events made no sense and Severus knew the old man wasn't reporting a firsthand eye witnessing of the events. In his story, it'd been a human Lupin turned werewolf and a human Sirius against a human Pettigrew on a full moon night. Only the gullible and those who truly didn't know the men involved would've believed that story. Which was most of the targeted audience, Severus would admit. Only Potter and posse and his Slytherin students had realized Lupin was a werewolf and so wasn't in human form that particular night.

But Severus knew the men involved. And he knew Pettigrew wasn't brave enough to face a completely human Lupin and Black together when he knew both had full cause to be angry at him and were justifiably wanting revenge on him. No way would he face a turned Lupin in his own human form. Plus, Severus had seen Pettigrew return to his natural form and run off into the forest before he'd escorted Potter and posse to the infirmary. And Severus knew there was just no way there was no way the Pettigrew Rat would have been found and forced back into his human form in the Forest. A rat had too many hiding places in that forest. Severus knew Pettigrew wouldn't have turned human again before sunrise.

Furthermore, Sirius had no bite wounds or claw marks from the wolf. Which he certainly would have. Because werewolves don't discriminate. While supposedly Pettigrew did when they were discovered on the shores of the Lake. How exactly had they gone from chasing the Rat in the forest in their animal forms to fighting as humans on the shores of the lake? Because Severus had seen Black changing into the grim-like dog to distract Lupin from Potter. Well, Black and Pettigrew anyway. because there was no way Lupin had been a human being that night.

And then there was the supposed death of Lupin. Dementors don't attack werewolves. So what exactly had killed Lupin? Pettigrew? The idea was ludicrous. Pettigrew wouldn't have squeaked 'boo' to a werewolf Lupin. Let alone attempted to kill him. Especially on that particular night when Lupin had just discovered Pettigrew was a Death Eater and responsible for getting James and Lily killed by the Dark Lord and leaving Harry an orphan. When he'd just discovered Pettigrew had lied and faked his own death to frame Black for his crimes so he could escape justice himself. No, Pettigrew would never have faced the werewolf in his human form that night.

And why was Black in human form when he knew damn well Lupin was in his werewolf form without the Nice Doggy potion benefits as well as the abundance of dementors floating around the grounds all looking for him with complete permission to dine on his soul? Not even revenge on Pettigrew would've been worth exposing himself to two different but very potent creature threats. As much as he'd hated how stupid and belligerent Black could be at times, the man wasn't that stupid. And he did know Black very well. Just as he'd known both James and Lily.

Because back then, in their seventh year, when Lily had realized she wouldn't be able to stop the Marauders from taking an active role in the brewing war, she'd talked James into coming to him and requesting his help in learning to properly defend themselves against the spells the Death Eaters used in battle. As she'd put it, "How can we protect ourselves against spells we've never heard of and have no familiarity with?" She had suggested him because she knew the Slytherin students were learning the dark arts spellwork right alongside the light arts Dumbledore approved of but he was the Slytherin student she knew and trusted most. Severus had been learning from his house mates while they were learning from their families. Because they were Slytherins and an Albus Dumbledore Hogwarts had no future for Slytherin students. So she'd gone to him and convinced him to share his learning with her and the Marauders in order to maybe save all their lives.

The Marauders didn't want to learn all the Dark Arts. Just the spells and their counters they might encounter in a fight with Death Eaters. The theory behind the spells didn't interest them. Nor did the more esoteric of the available spells. Only those they'd most likely encounter when they crossed wands with the Death Eaters. Thanks to Lily, they'd realized the simple light spells they were taught at Hogwarts wouldn't serve them well in a war where the other side was using dark spells they had no knowledge of and couldn't shield against or properly counter. As Lily had told James, "If you truly want to avenge your parents, wouldn't it be better to survive your first encounter with the group that killed them so you can get them all before they escape justice and go on to kill other peoples parents?"

So the Marauders, much to Black's disgust, had sat down with Severus to learn real Dark Arts instead of just light spell defense against the unknown spells of a Dark Arts Master. Lupin never came to very many of their study sessions and tried very hard to get the other Marauders to renege on them as well. But Lily wasn't to be swayed and where she went, James followed. Where James went Black followed.

When Lupin did come, he made it very clear he wasn't comfortable learning the Dark material Severus was trying to teach them. He tried very hard to make Severus only show them the light spell counters to the different dark spells without actually demonstrating or explaining anything at all about the dark spells themselves. He claimed just hearing about the dark magic spells brought his inner wolf too close to the surface and was making it harder for him to control the beast. Severus still didn't know if that was true or not. He rather thought it wasn't. Somehow he rather thought it was more because Albus said it wasn't necessary to learn Dark Spells to defeat them. Much like Granger in the here and now, Lupin listened to and trusted the Headmaster far too much for Severus' comfort.

But then Albus truly believed the light side shielding spells he had the Hogwarts Professors teach the student base could defend them against any Dark Magic spell cast at them. The problem with that was certain shields only worked against specific spells and others had no counter shield at all. If you didn't know which spell was being cast in your direction, which many light side fighters didn't even when they heard the spell being cast at them, it'd be just as likely you'd cast the wrong shield spell as not. Or fail to summon something solid into the spell's path in time to save your own life.

During the war Lily and the Marauders had saved many a life because of their seventh year study sessions. They'd hear a spell being cast, see who was targeted by it and cast the appropriate shield for the intended victim. Or summon something into the oncoming path of the destructive spell.

Even back then, in their seventh year, Lily and the Marauders had all known in war there wasn't any such thing as getting back on your feet and having a do-over so you could cast the right shield the next time. Death Eaters played for keeps. The daily storm of black letter carrying owls in the Great Hall was telling them all that simple truth. Even when they'd been seventh years, it was clear the Ministry aurors were fighting a losing battle against the tide of the Dark Lord's forces.

Still, he truly wondered sometimes if it wasn't their knowledge of the Dark Arts that had led to their early deaths though he had no way to find out. Their competence in battle would've told Albus they had a greater knowledge of the Dark Arts than he'd have been comfortable with. Albus swore, and Minerva believed, that all dark magic corrupted the user no matter what the purpose was in learning it. Neither one would believe for even the blink of an eye, that Light magic couldn't meet and excel over Dark without the light magic fighter learning a single thing about the dark magic they were opposing. Lily and the Marauders would've been an embarrassment to Albus simply because he'd know it was their knowledge of the dark arts spellwork that allowed them to battle and triumph over the dark forces so often.

Any time someone tried to point out how luck had played a large role in any victory the light side had, Albus would smile, twinkle his eyes and point out how very long he had lived as proof the Dark couldn't truly triumph over the Light. He never actually denied their victories were more due to luck than skill. Luck, that someone at the site of the battle had been more knowledgeable of the tactics being used and had the ability to counter them. Usually Lily and the Marauders. And sometimes himself.

Nor did he bother to point out a large part of his longevity was entirely due to his avoidance of, rather than his prowess in, battle. Yes, Albus could fight and, when he did, he had a long list of spells and counters he could and did use to great advantage. But he tended to avoid battles whenever he could, only showing up when almost all the fighting was finished and only the mop-up was going on. Even back then during the first war, Severus had noticed his reluctance to show up before a fight was winding down. He'd noticed Albus rarely appeared until the fighting was over or nearly so and then only so he could take a lion share of the credit for the victory while everyone who'd done the bulk of the fighting was too exhausted or injured to protest his claims. Or dead. He'd make a speech to the press wherein he would vow to avenge their losses. Usually standing next to the most photogenic corpse at the site of the just finished battle to emphasize his point. A child if he could find one. If not, a woman or badly dehumanized person of indeterminate sex and identity. That way, the public would have no way of claiming he'd promised to avenge their particular fallen family member.

Hell, he'd even done his claiming credit he wasn't due routine to the Potter child over the events the child had been embroiled in these last four years. Look at what he'd done at the conclusion of the Tournament. While Severus took Potter to the Infirmary and saw him into Poppy's capable hands, Albus had stayed on the grounds talking to the press and the Ministry people taking credit for Potter's victory in the Tournament and making statements about what he assumed had taken place when the boy disappeared from the grounds.

And it was an assumption on Albus' part because he hadn't actually said a word to Potter until the following morning. Facts, Severus was well aware, Potter had never officially confirmed or denied. Well, at least to anyone but himself.

Even now, with the next school year well underway, Potter hadn't officially confirmed Albus' statement about where the Tri-Wizard cup had taken him when the hedges had fallen. Or what had occurred at that location. Oh, Severus knew Albus was correct. The Dark Lord had returned that night. But Potter had never confirmed Albus' statement of that to either the Ministry or the Press. Even his vague references of Potter only winning the Tournament due to his own mentorship of the boy during childhood, hadn't brought him any glory with the press and public as it was a well-known fact Potter had done nothing, absolutely nothing, during the course of the Tournament to back up that claim. What skills and talents the boy had displayed weren't things a mentor could have, or would have, taught him.

But his suppositions as to where the cup portkey had transported the boy and what had occurred at that location only brought him a summer's worth of ridicule in the press. Because even when he awoke in the Infirmary to find the Minister, Amelia Bones from the DMLE and Albus all waiting to hear his version of how the Tournament had ended, Potter hadn't said a word about the Dark Lord's return.

Fudge had jumped to the conclusion it had been that band of rogue wanna-be Death Eaters that had attacked the World Quiditch games and Potter had let him believe it. Like any self-respecting Slytherin would which was just further proof Potter was a snake in lion's fur. Potter had seemed to know the Minister wouldn't believe him because he didn't want to believe him. So he'd let the man tell him, Potter, what he personally believed and then went along with that story.

Albus had been furious and had grilled the teenager after the Minister and Amelia had left the grounds but Potter had held his own. He'd simply looked at the old man and said, "If you wanted me to confirm your story Headmaster, maybe you should have made sure I knew what your story to them was. I had no way of knowing that wasn't what you told them. So when he said it, I just went along with him."

Albus had blustered and sputtered for a few minutes before angrily telling Harry he should have told them the truth because now the Ministry would do nothing to prepare for the troubles to come. Harry had laughed and said, "The truth is a wonderful and terrible thing Headmaster. But in this case, it's also something they'd never believe. So they'd have done nothing of any substance."

"Still Harry you should have told him," Albus had replied looking saddened and grave though the lack of a twinkle in his eyes told Severus something Potter had said angered him.

"And so you think I should have told them what exactly? That a dead man performed a ritual to bring another dead man back to corporeal form? Yeah, that would've gone over real well." Harry gave a short bitter laugh. "You seem to forget, Headmaster, the Ministry declared Voldemort dead back when my parents died. They also declared Peter Pettigrew deceased nearly at that same time. So there was no way in hell they would believe Pettigrew performed a ritual to return Voldemort to a human form. Remember I tried to tell them just last year Pettigrew was alive. Especially not when the truth involves yet another supposedly dead man who is anything but. This entire fiasco this year only occurred due to the interference in my life by Barty Crouch Jr who is a long believed supposedly dead prisoner of the infamous prison. He has been here acting as our DADA Professor so as to aid and abet Voldemort in said ritual by ensuring I was available for it's performance. Do you really think I should've told the Minister that story Headmaster? That you had a supposedly dead inmate of Azkaban here under your very nose posing as a teacher and endangering all the students for this entire year? One who openly and with your blessing used the Unforgivable curses on the student body during the course of teaching us the DADA? Should I have told him those facts, Headmaster?"

Severus had wanted to laugh at his flummoxed boss but hadn't dared. The boy was right and they both knew it. Nothing he could have said would make Cornelius divert more funding to the auror department. But what he could have said certainly would have done a great deal of harm to the Headmaster had he chosen to deny Fudge's beliefs. Certainly telling the man Pettigrew had brought the Dark Lord back would only have allowed the paranoid politician another target for his paranoia.

Which, come to think of it, was probably exactly what Albus wanted. So long as Fudge and the press had Harry to target, he probably figured they'd leave him alone. And Severus knew Albus well enough to know he'd point the worst of the bad press at Harry. Just to divert it away from himself. Either that or he'd act the part of the long suffering mentor forced to deal with a delusional child hero wanting an enemy to fight. Hell, he'd probably have done both. _If_ Harry had cooperated and confirmed his tale. And Severus did notice Albus was very quick and quiet in getting rid of the imposter Alister Moody which to him only confirmed Harry's story of how and why he'd become a participant in the Tournament. As well as how much damage Harry's story, which was verifiable by both pensieve memories and truth serum, could do to Albus' reputation. Severus had made a point of getting both behind Albus' back and storing them secretly for future use should they be necessary to save Potter's life or freedom.

Now older and wiser, Severus knew it was luck really that all of them hadn't lost their souls to the spells they were studying back then. Since there was no way any of them could simply ask a teacher at this school to help them prepare themselves adequately they'd studied out of books in out-of-the-way classrooms and practiced what they read about whenever they found a few unwatched moments to do so. They'd had to use out of the way abandoned classrooms because Lily and the Marauders were Gryffindors and if they'd been caught using the dungeon rooms by his tower mates, every one of them would've seen his study mates as free and easy targets to practice their own spell work upon. Especially Lily as she was a first generation witch.

But maybe they hadn't because of the reason for which they were learning the information. Intention was ninety percent of all magic after all and their intentions had been good. Even back then, they had sought to protect. Not harm. Peter clearly had slipped the farthest of them though Severus had fallen as well. Though he and Black had never gotten along and truly hadn't been able to abide each other, he and James had buried the hatchet well enough to be able to study together. And Black had helped to explain some of the spells Severus was trying to teach Lily and the Marauders because Black did have a background in Dark Magic even if he did everything he could to disavow his family line. But like Severus and Lily, Black had understood that to defeat the dark you had to know what the dark could do. And recognize when they were.

And so, when Severus had lost his way to the lure of the power of the Dark Arts, Lily had refused to give up on him and she'd convinced James he was worth the effort of saving as well. Black wouldn't hear of trying to help him and Remus had already stopped coming to their study sessions. Peter wasn't able to do much at all really which was probably why none of them had noticed his slide to the darkside. So it was just Lily and James fighting against the lure of the dark arts pulling at him. The two had worked around the clock pulling him back and he had been fighting it with everything he had. For his friend. For her. Because she wanted him to fight it. And that was a good enough reason to him.

Still, it hadn't been until he learned his Master was planning the deaths of his friends because of their child that he'd truly returned to the light. Until that revelation he'd been caught between the two forces. Not really dark but not light either. Much like he was today as a matter of fact. Only now he felt no pull to practice dark magic. He just understood their reasoning and could sympathize with them. Witches like Granger and Weasely made it all too easy to understand their point of view. And because of that, he found he could do dark spells just as easily as he could do the light spells. Unlike most those who fell to the dark arts, Severus had fought tooth and nail clawing his way back to the light and now he considered himself to be neutral. A grey warrior if you will. Which was why when the Ministry was looking for a Guardian/Protector for Potter, he'd agreed to fill the role.

But back then learning the Dark Lord would attack his friends just to kill their baby on the remote possibility that said baby would be his downfall was the eye opening shock he'd needed to realize the Dark Arts weren't for him. He wasn't into infanticide but especially not due to some drunken crackpot uttering a few nonsensical words in a tavern. And definitely not when that baby he wanted to kill was the son of his only lifelong friend and her husband who had believed in him when no one else gave a damn.

So even though he'd lost his friends without ever having been able to tell them of his recovery, he vowed he'd protect their child for them. Because they weren't here to do it themselves. No matter what he had to do or who he had to go against. He would protect Harry James Potter until his own death. Because Harry was all he had left of them. The last people to actually believe in him as a good and trust-worthy person in his own right. Because he was well aware Albus didn't truly believe Severus wasn't still a devotee of the Dark Arts. Albus might have a use for him, but he didn't believe Severus was as light as any other wizard on his side. Which was actually true but not in the way Albus meant it. But Lily and James had believed in him and just as it had been then, it was still good enough for him now.

Albus might think he was the reason Severus wasn't lost to the light as other Death Eaters were. But Severus knew it was Lily and James Potter who'd saved him. Not Albus Dumbledore. Because it was they who believed in him. Not Albus Dumbledore. And it was Harry he fought for now. Not Albus Dumbledore. Or the Dark Lord.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. Short chapter I know but sometimes short is best I think.** **A chapter for my Snape fan. And background for any who might have been wondering why Severus had accepted the role of Guardian/Protector for Harry.**


	28. Library Conversation

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Library Conversation

But what it meant for the here and now, was quite simple really. Severus knew beyond any doubt, Harry was twice the Light wizard either of his parents had been. If he knew any Dark Magic spells, he only knew them because they had been used against him already and what did it say when the entirety of the Light side sought to teach him Dark Magic through having it used against him simply so they could refer to him as a Dark Wizard and sneer at him behind his back? How being the victim of dark magic users made him a dark wizard Severus didn't know but he'd heard more than once how because Potter had been exposed to it, that meant he was a dark wizard himself.

Severus knew not one person in this world really gave a hoot about the child but until this year he hadn't really cared one way or the other about that. In fact, it had been a source of private amusement for him. But now, following the boy around the Castle during his free time and having trusted members of his house do so when he couldn't due to other obligations, he knew that was really a very sad thing. The boy was just a child. A very lonely child. But still. Nothing more than a child like any other with no one in this world who cared about him. Unlike other children his age, Potter didn't spend his free time playing games or gossiping. He spent it reading. Learning from books a child his age shouldn't be interested in.

Following the Potter child around was also good for his trusted Slytherin children as they were also coming to see the child rather than the myth. For some of them, coming to see Potter for who he really was, was an eye-opening experience that showed them no matter how bad they had believed their own lot in life was, there was someone who had a worse lot. Because all of them saw the truth. Potter had no one. Absolutely no one who cared for him. Sure, there were people who liked him and always had been. But they didn't care for him. He couldn't go to them with his problems or when others were giving him a hard time. He had no one in that capacity. And never had, really. Not since Lily and James had died.

And it was proven by the fact that no one seemed to have even noticed that beautiful owl of his hadn't come back to the Castle with him this year. And Severus grudgingly admitted the boy loved that owl. Probably more than he loved anything else in this world. In either world, really. She didn't judge him or make demands of him. She didn't steal from him unless it was his bacon off his plate. Or try to lead him into confiding in her just so she could betray him as soon as he turned his back on her. She didn't hurt him just so she could laugh at how weak he was to have gotten hurt in the first place. And she certainly didn't try to kill him or get him killed. No, Harry loved his owl because she was safe for him to love. And how very sad was that when a fifteen year old boy would only allow himself to care for an animal because he knew the animal was safe to care about while people weren't?

Yet people like Minerva didn't realize it at all. He had begun talking with Irma, otherwise known as Madam Pince, the Librarian, when he'd shadow Harry to the library after his classes. That is, when he wasn't keeping Ms. Granger from bothering the boy. As soon as that girl saw him in the Library she'd try to make a beeline straight to him. Either he or Madam Pince would divert her long enough for his Slytherins to surround the boy. She'd glare at Potter but go about her business as Severus knew she didn't have a great deal of time these days for the Library haunting she was known for. It always seemed to spurt a few new rumors about how Harry was becoming a true Slytherin though. As if that was a bad thing. But the children didn't seem to care this year. The non-Slytherin children knew the Slytherin children were surrounding Potter whenever they could and not necessarily because he either asked them to or wished them to do so. So the rumors lacked the necessary nasty innuendos and died a short death.

Harry always went to the Library at the end of the class day. As normal Severus had his Slytherins scheduled for the library at the same time so he could watch over Potter while he watched over his children. In doing so, he gave himself a valid and acceptable reason for being there that even Albus couldn't argue with. This year, he was happier about that than he ever had been before.

Not that Albus was actually watching over the school and it's occupants this year as he normally did. Out of the almost eight weeks school had been in session this year, Albus was out of the Castle more than he was in it. And no one could really say what he was doing. All Minerva claimed to know was that Albus said it was personal business. Severus was surprised to discover he really didn't care either. Albus not being here micro-managing things meant this situation was being allowed to develop as it should and would therefore hopefully accomplish something good for all the children. Not just those at the center of it. Nor did there seem to be any danger lurking around the corner to threaten the students as they tried to learn. For the first time in five years Hogwarts seemed to be the safe place of higher learning it was supposed to be.

Naturally, he decided to use the Library time to discover what kind of things the boy knew or was studying when he spent his time in the library. Since he'd decided to try and gain the trust of Potter, he needed to know as much as he could discover about him from those who knew already. And Madam Pince seemed to be his main source of learning material not related to his Hogwarts classes.

He'd already talked to Hagrid about the ingredient gathering he did for the boy when he'd told him why he'd been selected as the detention monitor for Ms. Weasely. He'd even spoken to Mr. Filch when he'd explained his selection as the monitor for Mr. Weasely. Talking to either man hadn't done much more good than trying to talk with the house-elves had. They'd been surprisingly closed-mouthed about the boy and why they considered him their personal friend. Why Hagrid at least was willing to spend hours of his time gathering ingredients for Harry's own use and not the school storeroom.

So he wasn't all that surprised to discover Madam Pince was guarded about talking about the child with him. Slowly, he had found she had come to see the boy for who he truly was and not who he was supposed to be a couple of years back. Just as Mr. Filch had. And she'd been helping him whenever and wherever she could ever since. He was one of the few children in the Castle she actually looked forward to seeing come into her domain.

And Severus was surprised to discover Hermione Granger had never, but never, been on that very short list of welcome personages for the Madam. Mainly because the arrogant girl tried to bully her over how she ran her Library.

First she'd tried convincing her into removing some books from the shelves she claimed spouted too much wrong or just conflicting information and then into letting her have free access to the restricted section so she could read the books contained there. She was only a first year at the time and had no business in that section of the library. So naturally it hadn't worked.

A few times when she'd gotten the proper permission to be in that section of the Library during subsequent years, the damn girl tried to take books from there and place them on the regular shelves, claiming they had no business being in the Restricted section at all as there was nothing dangerous about them or the information they contained. She'd decided in all her wisdom the books were nothing more than fantasy fiction books and so were no threat to any rational student.

If that wasn't bad enough, she'd also tried to remove books from the regular shelves and place them into the restricted section, claiming they contained information that was too dangerous for her school mates to read. As if she was in any manner experienced enough to make such a judgment call! Not even the fact she'd read the books herself and was able to walk away from it without using anything she'd read within them should have told her the books were no such thing.

And then there was the organization issues. Hermione Granger didn't like the way Madam Pince categorized her books. She'd insisted it all needed to be reorganized according to the Dewy Decimal system the muggles used as that system made so much more sense and made it far easier to locate books on a particular subject. And with the Dewy Decimal system a card catalogue could be made that would allow the students to easily locate whatever books they were interested in without having to disturb the librarian. Which said all that needed to be said about why the girl was denigrating the current system. With a card catalogue Ms. Granger figured she could get into and out of the Restricted Section far easier and much more often. No, Irma Pince did not like Hermione Granger. At all.

Like him, Irma knew Harry had no one else who saw him for himself as he truly was. But unlike him, she knew it included the other world where he spent his summers as well. It was she who had pointed out the absence of his bird this year. "Not surprising really since Albus did try to kill the bird last year." Which surprised Severus since he wasn't aware anyone really knew Albus had meant for Harry to lose something or someone precious to him in that second event. Of course Albus had believed it would be Ms. Granger Harry would lose. But when Krum had succeeded in rescuing her, Albus had immediately latched onto Hedwig as his victim of choice.

Like him, Irma knew the situation had been allowed for far too long for it to ever really change all that much. With all the games Albus played manipulating the boy in an effort to gain a hold over him, the teenager had been bluntly told whomever he did choose to care for had a very short life expectancy as they would find themselves the next target of the supposedly lightest wizard since Merlin. And that was only if the other person out to hurt him didn't get to said person first. Either way, anyone Potter chose to get close to could expect to find themselves fighting for their very life quickly after it became known Potter cared for them.

"You know, Severus, even if Minerva does manage to get them to realize the removal of those marks is in their hands and they do what's necessary to remove them, Harry will never accept them as his friends again. He knows he can't trust them now and once someone proves untrustworthy to a child like him, they'll never overcome that judgement. He gave them the chance to choose him over the Headmaster. They didn't take it. Now they have to live with the consequences of their choice."

"More than one chance," Severus agreed. "He has no reason to trust them. I'm just hoping he doesn't use the life debts the girls owe him against them to force them to leave him alone. I'm not sure he's even aware he can use it like that. Minerva will never forgive him if he calls it due. Luckily, I don't think she is aware they actually owe him such a debt. Or that he's aware they do."

"Albus will give him that 'I'm so disappointed in you' look he likes so very much and thinks is so very effective, while telling him he should turn the debt over to him and let him deal with the matter for him as his magical guardian. Albus will assume he's too stupid to realize the debts don't work like that and Minerva will swear it's something a light wizard wouldn't have done while telling him his Father would be so disappointed and ashamed of him for calling them in. Because James never called the life debt he held on me due. So naturally she'll believe Harry shouldn't either." He'd learned Irma responded better if he used Potter's Christian name when referring to him so he was making a conscious effort to do so.

"Well, both of them are wrong and we both know it. You're correct in thinking he knows about the debts those girls owe him. And yes, he does know how he can use it to get them out of his life permanently. He doesn't want to though because he doesn't want them forced to drop out of school. He believes they need an education just as much if not more than he does. So he won't willingly put them in a position of having to forego it simply because they owe him their lives."

"Just as he's well aware he literally holds that other boys life in his hands. That punk literally tried, by his own hand, to kill him, Severus. Neither of the girls did that though there's no doubt Granger, at least, was trying her hardest to get him killed. Even the judgement rune on his face now won't equate for that. He's forever marked by the Betrayer's Curse. If he atones sufficiently, it may get lighter so as to become hardly noticeable to anyone who doesn't know it's there. But it will never go away completely."

"As Harry stood here and clearly said, he had a very clear bruise on his spine where that punk shoved him into a dark, dank hole neither of them knew the first thing about except there was some kind of a deadly monster at it's base and a rampaging murderer as well. Not even Harry knows what the punk hit him with to knock him off balance and send him tumbling down that hole. But he does know it wasn't the punks hands. He's only lucky he hit Harry in the back instead of over the head. He might have succeeded in killing him if he'd done that."

"He shoved Harry in first so if either murderer or monster were waiting at the bottom of the hole, Harry would face them before he did, giving him time to get away. What Harry didn't say, was the punk waited at the top of the hole for Harry to call out it was safe before he sent the popinjay down and then followed himself. And when that popinjay Lockhart took the Betrayer's broken wand from him to attempt to curse both boys with that illegal memory charm, that redheaded fool blamed Harry for it. Despite the fact it was his wand the fool had grabbed. Why? Because Harry wasn't holding the fool at wand point before the Betrayer entered the area."

She sighed and shook her head. "Did you know Harry wanted to go get you to go with him into that bathroom to find out whether or not they had the right area? He didn't actually want to go tearing off to face the monster. He only wanted to know if he had the right place. So he planned to talk to Myrtle and confirm it as the location of the Chamber entrance before turning it over to you to deal with. He knew you'd need him to open the passage and that chances were good, he'd have to go with you just in case there were other doors needing to be opened. But he had no intention of doing the rescue by himself."

"But he didn't trust the popinjay and didn't want him at his back considering he'd already hurt him earlier in the year when he'd vanished his arm and hand bones. That redheaded brat wouldn't let him get you. Insisted they take that popinjay Albus hired instead. Harry already knew you wouldn't let him face the danger alone if you'd even let him face it at all. So did that punk, I guess, since he was determined Harry would take a useless fool with him instead. An useless fool who was pretty willing to kill him in the name of greater fame and glory for himself." She gave her patented sneer, that many a Slytherin student spent hours trying and failing to copy, in remembrance of Lockhart.

"And since the Betrayer forced Harry to take the fool, that makes what he did to them down there, the Betrayer's responsibility as well and Harry knows it. So in that one incident, Ron is responsible for two separate murder attempts on Harry. That doesn't even count being the owner of the rat who turned out to be a mass murderer as well as the betrayer of Harry's parents. How that figures into things, I really can't say but I'd say the cosmic scales are tilted quite heavily in Harry's favor when it comes to the Betrayer."

"He wanted to get me?" Severus' mind had gone into a rut when she'd revealed that piece of information and the rest of her tale had pretty much gone in one ear and out the other as a result.

"He trusted you and he knew you could fight. Remember he'd seen you wielding a wand in defense during that mockery of a dueling class Albus let the Popinjay try to host." Severus snorted because he knew all he'd done then was cast a disarming spell at the fool of a man. But Irma was still speaking so he didn't let it distract him.

"He already knew you'd saved his life more than a few times and interfered in situations where he could've gotten seriously hurt. He said something about following you into the Forest and hiding in the boughs of a tree to listen to you threaten somebody, though I'm not sure what that was all about, and seeing you in the shadows when the centaur brought him away from the unicorn killer when Minerva sent him into the Forest for that infamous detention. However, there was also the cursed broom during that first year quiditch game of his. You saved him and he knows it. Knew it then, too. That's something no one else has ever bothered to do for him. And I do mean no one. Not since Lily died anyway. So he'd good reason for believing you'd save him again should his life be in danger. He trusts you where he trusts no one else. He may have believed those three were his friends but he didn't trust them. His life hasn't been one where trusting people is normal or allowed. As far as I know you are the only person he ever has trusted or ever might trust again."

"He trusts me?"

She shrugged. "He used to. These days, I'm not sure. Right now, I think he's afraid to trust or care about anyone. So many people have used him and hurt him, I think he's scared to try any more. I honestly think all he wants to do now is get through school and disappear as soon as he can. But if he was going to trust anyone, I'd say it'd be you."

"No one will let him do that, Irma. You know what people expect from him," Severus said with a frown.

She nodded. "I do but I can also understand where he's coming from. Not one of those people demanding he go fight the dark for them, has given him even the slightest reason to do so. Every time he's needed somebody to be there for him or to help him, no one's around. No one except you but even you aren't always there. Thanks to Albus and those brats."

"And here, where he should've been able to build ties worth fighting for, every time he's begun to get close to someone, they've either gotten themselves killed or led him into a life and death fight where he had to fight alone. Or turned what they learned from him about him into temporary fame and fortune for themselves. So how can you blame him for wanting to just disappear as soon as he can get himself free to do so?"

Severus sighed. "I can't, I guess. You're right, of course. He doesn't have any reason to fight for us. We haven't given him one while we have given him plenty of reasons to run and hide. Maybe that's why Albus keeps trying to claim a life debt against him."

"It is. He figures that since what he needs Harry to do most is die for his cause, he can't let Harry get close to anyone in case it gives him the strength to survive when he faces our enemy. Therefore, anyone who looks to be drawing too close, Albus either buys off, blackmails or sends into the line of fire hoping they get burnt badly enough to back away from Harry. If not killed. But with no people to survive for, he also realizes Harry has no reason to fight at all. So he keeps trying to manufacture a debt Harry can only repay by doing exactly what Albus tells him to do. Which is mainly turning his inheritance in it's entirety over to Albus before he goes off to die for Albus' cause. So Albus can garner more fame and glory for himself off the blood, sweat and tears of Harry's short life."

"It won't work because Harry not only knows Albus doesn't have Harry's best interest at heart but he knows how life debts work. He knows that not only do those girls owe him their lives but that he owes Albus absolutely nothing because Albus has never, and will never, place himself into jeopardy to save him. All I can say is things are about to get very interesting around here because the Harry Potter who returned to the Castle this year isn't the same Harry Potter who left last spring."

Thinking he might actually know what she was talking about but needing to confirm it anyway, Severus asked, "What do you mean? I would've thought things were already very interesting. After all, it's not every year we have a student calling upon judgement magic to cast punishment onto his peers."

Irma snorted. "As if most of our student population actually could call upon the old magic like that to begin with. He is one of the very few students I can remember walking these halls to have the ability to do so and certainly the only one here presently with the power and the purity necessary to do so. There was a time when you could have. Such as when the Marauders thought it'd be amusing to send you face to face with their werewolf friend. Most our students have neither a just cause nor the power needed. But no, I think what he did to those three is just the beginning of what he will do."

Just then Sybil Trelawney stepped into the Library. She had been standing in the hall outside the door listening to their conversation long enough to realize they were talking about Destiny's Child. As the other two caught sight of her, a grimace briefly acknowledged her presence. She waved a single hand dismissively before saying in a far more normal tone of voice than she normally used, "I have been telling Albus for years he was reading that child and the prophecy surrounding him wrong. But Albus won't listen to me. He's so certain his interpretation of the prophecy is correct because his enemy went after the Potter family. He totally misses the fact that everyone, no matter who they are, has a choice when standing at a crossroads. They can go either to the left or to the right. Or they can back away and choose neither direction. Everyone has that choice. Even children of Destiny."

"And for the record, Irma, I agree with you. Harry Potter is on a mission this year and the only question is how many will be destroyed by the time he completes his mission. I've been watching him ever since he first came here as an eleven year old looking for love and acceptance. And I've seen him growing and withdrawing more and more with each passing year. But always before, there's been something in him that refused to quit, hoping he'd find what he's so desperately in search of. This year, he's no longer searching. He's quit hoping. He's accepted his status. In fact, I believe the final straw was when the Headmaster placed his familiar in danger just to amuse the masses and was perfectly willing to allow the other judges to kill her as a random act of punishment against him for preventing an international incident. To appease the masses who wanted him to suffer for them. Because he disappointed them. No one has even noticed they haven't seen that bird again after that day at the lake's edge. But I saw the acceptance in him several times after that event."

Irma nodded thoughtfully as she murmured, "I know when he comes in now, he spends his time reading the old books on the old ways. Laws that are still on the books but that no one mentions any more if they even remember them at all. He reads about the old definitions of light and dark magic and several of our debates are on that subject. He also reads the old histories and customs no one follows any more."

"The only thing I can't figure out is why he chose to pass judgement on those three now," said Severus. "I'm not denying he had the right to do so. He definitely did. And after what he revealed that they were doing to him, if he hadn't taken some kind of vengeance on them, I would've. My vow would've made it necessary for me to do so. But it seems a mite bit foolish to have done so this early into the year while he has no escape from either them or their defenders. Sooner or later, whatever is currently distracting the Headmaster now is going to end. Then he's going to recognize those marks for what they are and hear enough of the rumors to deduce it's his doing. Potter will have to deal with his meddling and veiled threats as well as the three of them trying to force him to see things their way."

Irma nodded again. "I too, thought he should wait until later in the year but he very bluntly told me he didn't want to give them the chance to again place his life in jeopardy just to feed their overblown egos and delusions of grandeur. Nor was he willing to allow them to spend any more of his coin for their own amusements. Which if he hadn't done it then would have been the outcome as he'd have been forced by either Albus or Minerva to get them a new key to his vaults. Plus, there's the requirement necessary for the Judgement Calling remember. The accused has to admit their guilt in front of a neutral party. The more neutrals the better."

"He also said he wished to do it as early into the school year as he could so they'd have more time to adjust to their marks. That way they can actually begin the atoning they need to do before they have to face their parents. He could've waited until right before a school break but he said all that would do is get their parents involved before they admit to their wrongdoing. Which would delay them accepting their blame because of course their parents will believe they're innocent and don't deserve the marks at all. He said they need time to get past the anger and admit they were in the wrong before they go home. And seeing how they've behaved since it happened, I have to say he's right."

Her thin lips got a slight curl to them as she added, "We're just lucky he waited until Albus was out of the Castle on personal business. Though maybe that wasn't so much luck as it looked like it was. He told me the Triad had been waiting for the old man to leave before they confronted him on the matter. Something about the old man not wanting Harry to know they were taking money from his accounts which of course them confronting him on the matter would have told him they were. Therefore, the Headmaster wouldn't have allowed the confrontation if he was in the building when they tried it."

"Regardless, the only reason he waited as long as he did, was because he needed them to admit in the presence of others what they've been doing to him since they were eleven years old. And yes, the youngest Weasely has been just as involved as the other two since then. She wasn't even here but she was sending her brother letters full of tips on things he could say or do. She was only ten then and hadn't even met him. But she was already using him for what she could get from him. Well, sort of."

"They fell right into his trap because they honestly thought him too stupid to lay any kind of a trap for them. To be fair, they thought the audience would work in their favor when they chose to confront him here. Them choosing a time when Albus was away, worked more to Harry's benefit than they realize. Then or now." Both Sybil and Severus looked confused by that.

She smirked lightly as she admitted, "Harry told me afterwards the judgement needs time to settle into it's role once the caller has specified what actions he or she is asking for judgment over. The rune decides what behavior deserves punishment as well as what form that punishment should take but it needs time to fully integrate itself into the role. He deliberately glossed over the fact that anyone else who knew the ways of the old magic could've intervened on the behalf of the punished during the first week of judgement to lessen the severity of the punishment as well as what behaviors were undesirable. While no one but they could've removed the runes they now sport, the conditions for removal could've been modified as well. And both Minerva and Albus would've lobbied hard for him to water things down to the point where the runes would serve no purpose at all. Like maybe spending a single day not saying or doing anything bad to or about him. You know as well as I, they'd have had him set conditions so minimal the Triad would've gotten rid of the marks within a week while learning nothing of substance and they'd be back to their old tricks now. And they would have had him serving the punishment he had decreed for the Triad as penance for daring to think he had the right to punish them at all. You know that as well as I do. As does he."

"That's if any of them could actually perform the ritual and Magic had found him guilty of course. If not, they'd have found some other way to disfigure him so he could suffer for their hurt feelings. And no one would have said a word about it. Because when he marked them no one believed they were guilty of the crimes he accused them of. No one."

"Now because they have been in place for around a month, they're set. As are the conditions that go with them. Nothing can change them now. He also confessed he chose to do it then because he doesn't know if Albus knows the rules of Judgement magic or not. By choosing to do it when he knew it was unlikely the old man would notice and interfere in time to modify his terms, he figured he had his best chance to neutralize them as people he had to watch out for."

She smirked as she shrugged. "Plus, this gives them months to get used to being marked before anyone outside the school finds out about it. Well, at least before anyone outside the Castle finds out the marking was a real event and not just a fairy tale or wishful thinking on the part of the students."

"I see. But Sybil, what do you think he is up to? You said he is on a mission but not what that mission might be," Severus asked turning to her.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure but considering what he's already done, I'd hazard a guess and say, Vengeance. A lot of people have done wrong by him and they've been getting away with it for a very long time. Their bad acts are so ingrained into our thinking, we no longer consider whether or not they had the right to do what they did. Nor do we question them about the things they say or do any more because we're used to it. And even if we know _we_ wouldn't get away with doing or saying the same things, we know _they_ will. So we don't even try to stop them. I think Harry intends to put a stop to it. To make us grow up and stop making excuses for good people getting hurt for no reason but that they got in the way of someone we think is unpunishable. To make us stop being sheep. I guess you could say."

"I know for a fact he was more than hacked off over being forced to participate last year for the amusement of the masses. He was ridiculed and slandered both in class and out. But we did nothing. He was even slandered in the press and no one did anything. He was hacked off royally over the whole mess. For being booed by the crowd because he chose to speak to the dragon and explain to her why he was in her nesting area. They wanted bloodshed, Severus. Irma. And they booed him when they didn't get it. Like the Romans back in the Gladiator days. It was barbaric and we all know it but none of us did anything. He was mocked and ridiculed again when he made no attempt to find a date for the Show-And-Tell Ball at Yule time. No one said anything except to castigate him for not taking that redheaded girl they'd set up for him to escort. Albus saw the event as a first chance to begin circulating the myth of James and Lily living on through the new generation and understandably Harry wanted nothing to do with that. Albus wants to write Harry completely out of the equation. Naturally, he's going to resist that."

"None of us have done anything still. Children die and we do nothing. People do bad things that hurt others and we shake our heads and wring our hands. But we do nothing of substance. We don't change our laws or, for the most part, even try to arrest the people breaking the current laws. Our leaders openly lie to us and we let them get away with it while shaking our heads and telling the children not to lie. They take and give bribes to get their own way even when what they want isn't in the best interest of anyone but themselves and we do nothing but shake our heads and pretend we don't know about it. Then when new laws are passed that restrict our rights and freedoms we whine and complain. But when those same politicians, who made those laws, run for office again, we cast our vote for them so they can do it again. I think he's tired of it. Tired of all of it."

"Yeah, I agree society needs to change. But surely he doesn't think he can bring about that change," Severus said doubtfully. "He's still a child with two almost three more years of schooling before he becomes and adult. What can he realistically do?"

Sybil shrugged. "I don't know. That's why I wasn't expecting him to do anything right now. Not for society. Or against his three detractors. I fully expected he'd come back here and play Albus' game again just as he has for the last four years. But he didn't and he isn't. So he must have a plan. I just don't have any idea what that plan is."

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. Kind of a preclude of things to come. Maybe. You'll have to wait and see. (Heehee)**


	29. Harry's Plans and Defense Class

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

 **Umm. . . Does anyone have the number for the fire department? Hubby made homemade chili. Real beans. Real meat. Canned tomatoes. And kick butt spices. Yeah Spices. My mouths on fireeeee.**

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Harry's plan and Defense Class

Of course, Sybil was wrong. Harry's plans weren't nearly that convoluted or elaborate. All he planned to do was study for his Owls, take them, passing as many as he could with marks as high as he could get and leave this place behind. He already knew he only needed his Owls to keep his magic and his wand rights. So all he wanted to do was get through this year, take them and then disappear somewhere off the British magical grid. And as soon as he was sixteen file for his emancipation so he couldn't be forced back here or anywhere else by anyone. No matter what their reasoning for doing so was.

To him, the people had shown themselves completely satisfied with their world and the way it was run. Yes, they wanted him to kill the current accepted Dark Lord for them but they refused to admit who the true Dark Lord in their lives actually was. They showed no inclination to prevent the rising of another to take the place of the one they thought to be the source of their problems, either. In fact, with their fervor to find excuses by which to let his followers walk away when they were caught in the act of breaking the current laws, the people showed a complete willingness to continue the status quo as it was. And so long as that was the case, there would always be someone rising up to the status of Dark Lord.

Harry just knew if he survived the taking down of today's Dark Lord, the people of this backwards little world would fully expect him to live his life on standby for the rising of the replacement Dark Lord. Whom they would also be expecting him to handle for them. All the while they'd be listening to and obeying the real Dark Lord who'd probably be the source of the replacement Dark Lord they currently feared. Just as he'd been the source of the current title holder. Because once upon a time Albus Dumbledore had been the mentor/teacher of Tom Marvolo Riddle. And it was Albus Dumbledore who had turned Tom down when he came to apply for the position of Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts which in turn gave birth to Lord Voldemort. But just as the people didn't blame Albus now, they wouldn't blame him when the next contender for the title of Dark Lord arose from the ashes of this one.

There was also a good chance the sheeple would try to arrest him simply because he did what they couldn't. He, in his humble opinion, had sacrificed enough for their fears. He wouldn't sacrifice his life just because they were cowards. Nor would he sacrifice his inheritance for them. After this year, the goblins already had their orders of what to do to protect that for him and he knew they'd do it. They were too afraid of his Aunt not to.

You could say he was planning to get his vengeance but to understand the vengeance he planned to take, you had to first understand Harry and no one really did. He'd get his vengeance by walking away and letting them sink or swim in the mess they had made because they refused to moderate their leaders behavior and hold them accountable to the laws of the land.

Cornelius Fudge was the Minister and he used the office to do exactly what he wanted to do, introducing laws according to his whim and his whim was decided by whomever paid him the biggest bribe. He hired people to run departments they weren't qualified to run based on their bloodline or because someone with deep pockets wanted them in that position. Then he stood aside as those unqualified people threw out anyone in their new department who's bloodline didn't live up to their ideals. Never mind if the person they were discarding was the only person in the department who could actually do the job the department was designed to do. And if the person was replaced, which it wasn't a guarantee they would be, it'd always be by someone the new Department Head felt had a more suitable bloodline. Competency to do the stated job was never even a passing thought of the new boss.

Witness; allowing Delores Umbridge to take over as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor here at Hogwarts. She was highly unqualified to even be a teacher of a primary reading and writing class. Let alone a secondary educational institution classroom. She might work on the preschool level but definitely nothing higher. While she might be an able administrator and schedule coordinator, she certainly didn't have the qualifications of a teacher. Yet Cornelius had felt he needed someone he could trust here to inform him of everything the Headmaster said or did and no one was more devoted to him, Cornelius, than Madam Umbridge. So here she was. Teaching a class she had barely passed in her own fifth year. A class she hadn't qualified to study as a Newt student and therefore didn't have the required Newt to teach.

Amelia Bones was the Head of the DMLE. She functioned as the Courts Prosecutor but she wasn't really interested in serving justice. No, she was only interested in serving the Ministry. That meant she only insisted on cases going to court when someone told her it was necessary to prove their guilt or innocence. Nor, when a case was in doubt, did she insist on using the tools at her disposal to find out the full truth of the matter before allowing the court to render it's verdict. Which again often depended on who had the deepest pockets.

With magic on her side and Veritserum available to the courts, not to mention pensieves where the jury could actually see the events for which the defendant was on trial, there was no reason why she could not have a 100% conviction rate with only the guilty actually going to Azkaban. Yet, she didn't use the tools available to her or even prosecute all the crimes brought to her attention. She was said to be an impartial woman who truly only saw the law as an absolute but Harry didn't agree as he knew for a fact she allowed the Minister and the Wizengamot tell her who she could bring to trial and when a trial was over. She also allowed them to apply the law willy nilly whenever the accused was someone they didn't like or dismiss it when the accused was a friend of the Ministry. Therefore, she wasn't a fair and impartial woman sworn and dedicated to upholding the law absolutely as the Ministry claimed. He wouldn't go so far as to say she was for sale like so many of her colleagues but under her authority not everyone received justice either. Justice was for sale to the highest bidder.

Albus sat here in his ivory tower playing games with the lives of children and the people applauded him for it. He openly brought danger into the school where their children were defenseless against it. Then sat back in his tower wringing his hands and claiming he had no idea what the problem was while he waited to see who if any would fall victim to the menace he'd unleashed on them. And when Harry found and fought the danger he'd allowed in, he took the credit for it as if he'd done the deed himself. Safety was an undervalued commodity and Albus Dumbledore didn't have the going price to buy it.

In the courts, he decided who was guilty from who wasn't just like he did in the school when two or more students had a difference of opinion. Because he was Albus Dumbledore, he was able to ram his views down the throats of the others. Though there really wasn't much ramming involved. Usually all he had to do was point and talk, smile a bit and twinkle his eyes, talk some more and the people fell in line. He openly told bald faced lies and the people ate it up, accepting it as truth without question even when his words made no sense and weren't based on anything substantial. Truth was in the ear of the listener and the people of Britain were listening to a liar.

Case in point; he told Cornelius and Amelia at the end of the Tournament that Harry had been whisked away from the school grounds to take part in the rebirthing ceremony of the Dark Lord. Yes, that is what had happened but he hadn't talked to Harry at that point so how did he know? Where had he gotten his information and for how long had he had it? And why then didn't he do something to prevent it from occurring? They had no reason to accept his word for it because both knew he himself hadn't left the grounds. But he fully expected both of them to believe him simply because that's what he said had happened. He offered them no proof except to bring them to the infirmary the following morning where he'd expected Harry to confirm it for him. As if that would be proof enough.

Or worse yet. His words to them contradicted something else he had said. Or evidence gathered. Such as in the case of Sirius Black where in 1981 he was the one to tell them Sirius Black was the Potter Secret keeper and should be quietly shut away for the good of society. Then after the werewolf incident in Harry's third year, he tried to turn around and tell the Minister he was an innocent man wrongly convicted. In neither situation did he offer any proof and in both cases he expected his word to be the deciding factor. And in both cases he was lying. The first time his lies were believed and they got Sirius sent to Azkaban without the courtesy of a trial. But in the second instance, he claimed Sirius was convicted. This time the Minister refused to believe him and Amelia claimed she wouldn't act without proof since Sirius Black was now Dementor Kissed. Clearing him now would do nothing but stir up the people to no good end while eating up resources she didn't have to spare for a man who couldn't be helped.

Between them, Albus and Cornelius decided who was guilty of what in Magical Britain. And everyone else, the public, fell in line with their decision. They might grumble about it in the streets, stores and cafes or the privacy of their homes. But they'd never stand up and try to change it or point out the inconsistencies in their decisions. Yes, justice was for sale in Magical Britain.

The accepted newspaper made a habit out of printing gossip, rumor and innuendo as truth and no one gave it a second thought. The magical press told the populace what to think about the issues and the people who ran their world. But the people seemed perfectly content to let them, never once questioning what they read. Often the reporters took their direction from the Ministry, choosing to write their stories according to how the Ministry wanted a story to seem. While they could rip into the Ministry just as easily as they did anyone else, it wasn't likely they would. And if they did it, was because someone higher up in the ministry and far more popular or influential wanted said person destroyed.

While there were other sources of news like the Wireless, they weren't hard copy. People could listen and hear what the reporters said on the radio and even agree with the commentators. But later in the day when they wanted to refer to something they heard, to prove it they had to go to the paper which often didn't slant the top stories in the same direction. So the paper was the main source of news for the masses and their writings were seen as proof of the truth. Or at least what the Ministry decided was the truth.

And Voldemort. . .well there wasn't really anything that was right about him. He was just wrong from the word go and nothing would ever change that. As far as Harry had been able to get in his research, Voldemort had killed his first victim when he was sixteen. And he had killed her right here in the school for which he then blamed another, younger, student when it seemed his actions would have unintended consequences that didn't please him. What was pathetic was most people knew about it and they even knew the identity of the person he had framed, but they did nothing to right the wrong they'd done him. Even to this day, Hagrid didn't have the legal right to carry his wand openly or to sit his owls. Because long ago Voldemort had said he killed a girl he didn't kill.

Harry had set that matter as right as best he could and because of that, he had Hagrid's total and complete loyalty. Hagrid, through Madam Maxime who was contacted by Harry during the summer after his second year, had arranged for Hagird to take his Owls and then his Newts in France. So Hagrid was legal to carry and use a wand in France though he still couldn't in Britain. The only reason Hagrid was still at Hogwarts was because Harry was here. He had no intention of remaining here once Harry finished school.

Dumbledore might think Hagrid was only completely loyal to himself but Dumbledore hadn't gotten Hagrid a new wand or books to study and learn from. Dumbledore hadn't kept the Ministry from sending Hagrid to Azkaban back in Harry's second year. Dumbledore hadn't used his position and authority to right the wrong done to Hagrid. Harry had done what he could though and not for what he could get from Hagrid or what Hagrid could do for him. He'd done it simply because he could. Dumbledore had only ever acted on Hagrid's behalf when there was something Dumbledore believed Hagrid could do for him in return. Example: He'd tried to send Hagrid to round up the giants this past summer and get them to agree to fight on Dumbledore's behalf when the war broke out again. As if a human-raised outcast half giant could ever convince full blooded giants to do the bidding of a mere human who wouldn't come to them himself. Harry had persuaded Hagrid to go to France instead and spend the summer visiting with Madam Maxime while buying himself a house there so he'd have someplace to live after Harry finished school. Madam Maxime was teaching Hagrid to speak French and even had a job lined up for him when he finished at Hogwarts.

But with all these people in very high positions in this society, even if Harry wanted to do something to set things back on the right track again, he wouldn't succeed. Knock any one of them down and out, and the others just became worse. The proof of that was the Tri-Wizard contest wherein two of the main competitors died and no one protested their deaths. Even though one was a very famous quiditch player of international fame. Fleur Delacour had survived but it had been a near thing for her and she'd spent the summer in recovery from her injuries. Harry seriously doubted anyone would have protested had she actually died as well. Certainly no one was protesting her very severe injuries. She would spend the rest of her life with visible reminders of what had happened to her. Yet no one cared.

So no Harry had no intention of doing anything for this world. All he intended to do was finish his studies so he could retain his wand rights and keep his core unbound and his memories unviolated. Then he would get himself emancipated and go somewhere else. Somewhere he could be safe with his owl and forget his life before he got there. With Dobby, Winky and the goblins on his side he knew he had a very good chance to disappear once he had sat for his Owls.

The house on Privet Drive would be safe until his birthday but he knew he couldn't stay there a day past that day. As soon as he signed his emancipation papers, it'd be front page news and all sorts of people would begin clamoring for him to be brought in to answer to them for his audacity in trying something like that behind their backs. Nor did he have to worry about Dumbledore trying to force him to stay with the Weasely family again since he'd marked the youngest two. Molly Weasely would never agree to house him for so much as an hour once she learned of their marking. And everyone knew she ran that house. So when the school year was over he'd return to Privet Drive and wait for his birthday to come. Then he would sign the papers and vanish as if he'd never been here at all.

But in the meantime he read and studied and learned everything he could get his hands on. He practiced Occlumency and the Mind Arts to protect his mind and thoughts. He read about and practiced detection spells so as to detect any foreign substances in his food and drink or on his belongings whether his rings would negate them or not. He read about, studied and practiced shielding spells, casting them on himself and his belongings whenever he had to be out of his rooms. He read about and studied the old laws and how they worked with the new more modern laws. And of course, he read about and practiced wordless and wandless spellcasting as often as he could. Because he was determined not to die. Not for this pathetic world anyway.

But the one thing no one knew he was researching was Professor Snapes' Dark Mark and how to remove it without setting off the inherent magic within it that would alert either of his masters to the tampering. Harry felt it was something his parents would've wanted him to do if he could simply because he could. So long as Professor Snape wanted him to anyway.

Harry was determined to repay the man for the many times he had saved his life even in the face of his worst fear. And he could think of nothing more fitting than removing that controlling mark to give him back his freedom. Because without that mark on his arm he'd be free of both his Masters and their petty attempts to force their will upon him.

In his eyes, Severus Snape had more than repaid his debt for what was clearly an error in judgement brought on by a totally rotten childhood full of pain and misery. And loneliness. Even if the only bad in his childhood was here at Hogwarts where the man was picked on and tormented by bullies, that still meant he'd had a rotten childhood in Harry's eyes. because Hogwarts students spent the better part of seven years walking these halls and sleeping in a nest of vipers every night. But somehow Harry had a feeling the man's home life growing up hadn't been any better than his own with the Dursleys. So yeah, he'd made a bad choice. But you shouldn't have to spend the rest of your life paying for one single airheaded moment when you made the wrong choice.

All things Harry could understand all too easily. Because Harry himself had suffered a completely miserable childhood. And he was lonely. Very lonely. And if he was honest with himself, he always had been. Even when he had thought those two in Gryffindor Tower had been his friends, he'd been lonely. Their out of class time had always seemed to be spent doing something one of the two of them enjoyed doing. Neither one had ever asked Harry what he liked to do. Not that Harry actually knew what he liked to do other than fly his broom. He'd never really had time to find out. Nor would either of them let him join other games being played in the common room to find something he liked doing. It was either do homework with Hermione or play chess with Ron. Nothing else.

But now he didn't have to deal with them any more. The other students, Professor Snape and the elves were keeping them away from him. Even in his classes the students and teachers went out of their way to help Harry stay away from the two Gryffindors. Hell, he'd even sat by Draco one day in Potions because the only other option was sitting by Granger. Professor Snape had been pissed that day when he saw Harry's customary desk was occupied by Granger. He'd moved quickly to keep Malfoy, Granger or Weasely from setting up a loud protest over Harry's seating choice since it had been clear they'd been trying to force him to sit next to her. Not that Malfoy was gearing up to complain. He wasn't. He'd already discovered from Professor Snape that Harry was quite able to brew potions on the appropriate level.

Professor Snape had moved Lavender Brown to sit next to Granger while Millicent Bulstrode sat next to Parvati Patil And Pansy had partnered Crabbe, who usually paired up with Malfoy, that day. Luckily all five students had blamed Granger and Weasely because they'd been the ones to try and trap Harry into sitting next to her when everyone knew he wanted nothing to do with either of them any more. The other teachers were just as accommodating and Harry found himself sitting with Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws just as often as he did with Slytherins. Until eventually the Unholy Duo would get the message.

The only classroom he still had _his_ desk at the back of the class was Transfigurations but even there, the rest of the students in the class kept the Unholy duo away from him. Oh, the desk was still there in his other classes but he was no longer being left alone at it. Always one of them would try to sit next to him only to be cut off at the pass by the other students. One of whom would generally take the free seat beside him. His desk in Transfiguration was different in that it would only seat one. So there was no possibility of sharing space with him there.

But still, he was lonely. Not that Granger ever tried to sit next to him in Transfigurations. His desk was too far away from the teacher's desk and unlike Severus, Professor McGonagal rarely left her desk at the front of the room. So how could Granger show off if she was positioned too far from the teacher's eye for her to notice? Therefore, she always sat at the front of the room at the desk directly in front of the teacher's desk.

The only place Harry knew he could go other than his rooms and to class was the library. He didn't play quiditch any more and had no interest in visiting the pitch where once he had fooled himself into thinking he was just like any other boy his age. Nor did he want to just take his broom and go flying. Ok, that was a lie. He did want to fly. He missed flying. Missed it a lot. But it just wasn't worth the risk. Worth the trouble he'd be in if the wrong person saw him. Worth dealing with his old quiditch team who wanted him to fly with them again now that his name had once again been cleared. Worth McGonagal's snide comments and hissing. Worth Dumbledore's so called gentle admonishments.

Nor was it worth having them both realize he still had something he cherished and plotting as to how they could take it away from him unless he did as they wished. And Harry knew McGonagal was just as guilty of doing that as Dumbledore was. He wouldn't have gotten away with his tactics for as long as he had without her blind and willing assistance and compliance. Because why put him back on the team every year just to kick him off again after the first game if his love of flying wasn't a weapon in their hands? No better to never fly here again then to take the chance of them realizing how very much he loved it and how just because he wasn't on the team didn't mean he didn't still have his broom. He could easily see both of them trying to confiscate it from him.

Even his trips to the library were carefully planned so as to avoid the notice of the Headmaster and his deputy. The last thing Harry needed was to be restricted to only being able to use it when his enemies were lying in wait for him. And he totally knew both would do it in a heartbeat if they could get away with it. Especially if they thought he'd be miserable because of it. Which he would be since Granger would be policing his reading material and Weasely would be trying to distract him the entire time with something stupid and irrelevant. They probably even bring the trollop along just to further embarrass and humiliate him because of course she'd be hanging all over him making a display out of herself and him in her efforts to convince everyone she really wasn't the harlot he'd called her.

McGonagal would do it because she wanted to punish Harry for what she saw as him acting outside his authority while at the same time force him to deal with and apologize to her favorite students. Harry had no idea she no longer thought Harry was the one needing to apologize. She hadn't tried to talk with him since the Marking or done anything to make him think her attitude about him had changed. So as far as he was concerned she wanted him to grovel to her chosen favorites and he had no intention of doing so.

Dumbledore would do it because he'd totally believe Harry should be able to undo the magic he had cast upon them and because it would get Harry back under the control of his bought and paid for spies. And that was something Dumbledore needed if he was to continue trying to get Harry into a situation he couldn't get out of without help. In that thought Harry was almost correct. If Dumbledore realized Harry had marked his little patsies he would be trying to make Harry undo the marking and apologize to them while promising never to do it again. But so far Dumbledore hadn't been in the Castle enough to hear any of the rumors or meet with his children. And so he still didn't know the truth.

Harry had considered using the same judgment spell on them as well as the Trio but he wasn't sure it would work and the last thing he needed was to invoke the old magic of the spell only to have it backfire on him because magic didn't find he had just cause. Or because they completely believed they hadn't done anything for which they should feel guilt over. He had studied the magic enough to know the accused had to feel they had done something wrong for the magic to work. Even if what they did was for the right reasons, they had to believe it was wrong. Neither McGonagal or Dumbledore were likely to believe that. Wrong for the right reasons is still wrong but only children were likely to hold that viewpoint. Adults saw too many shades of grey to still think like that. So even if Granger and the two Weaselys also truly felt they were right in what they did to him, they still knew their actions and words were wrong.

Even though Harry knew Dumbledore wanted him dead, he also knew the old man actually did believe it was for the Greater Good. He didn't for one second believe what he was doing to Harry was wrong. Harry even knew why the old man wanted him dead. Being the sole heir of the Marauders, made him a very wealthy young man while Dumbledore was nearly broke. Dumbledore had no idea Harry was actually richer than even he knew. Because he had no idea Harry was the heir to Gryffindor, Evansleigha and Peverell as well. With Potter and Black wealth added to those, Harry was, or would be, Lord of the Five.

Not to mention the masses saw Harry as their Hero. Not Albus as they used to. Both Harry's wealth and his fame brought him a lot of political power in this society and Albus wanted that almost as much as he wanted the other two. Yes, Albus still believed he would hold the superior position but in truth he didn't. Or wouldn't. Once Harry achieved his majority.

There was no Greater Good involved. Or at least, the only Greater Good was Albus Dumbledore's Greater Good. He wanted Harry's inheritance, political power and fame. Plain and simple. Dumbledore had very expensive tastes and he had a reputation for generosity he couldn't meet on his own merit. Which was why he had been dipping into Harry's accounts to begin with. The current Ministry had little if any use for those with nothing but lint in their pockets.

That was the thing about people who only gave you their loyalty so long as you paid them. If you stopped, well. Their loyalty also ended. He needed to pay the people he was using to betray Harry and the only way he could do that was if he helped himself to Harry's money while trying to keep him ignorant of the facts. Because if Harry knew about his wealth, well naturally Harry would question what Albus was doing with it. And just as naturally he wouldn't agree with paying people for their loyalty and support. Because at Harry's age you didn't have to pay people to be loyal to you. If you had to pay them, then they weren't and that was all there was to it. But that was business as usual at the Ministry. If justice was for sale you could damn well bet everything else was as well. And Albus had been a part of the Ministry for far too many years now for that habit not to carry over into his out of the Ministry life.

But there was also Albus' lifestyle and taste to consider. If not for his dipping into Harry's vaults and his separate paydays, he would struggle each and every month to pay his living expenses. He didn't earn any pay for being on the ICW. That position was more like a charity fund raiser where people volunteered their time and expertise. He did get paid from his seat on the Wizengamot and as Headmaster here. But not nearly as much as he spent to keep up his image to the public. It was his access to the school accounts set up to meet the needs of keeping the Castle up and running and covering the needs of the student body that wasn't listed on the supply list or covered by the tuition that helped him maintain his image. Because let's face facts here. The students lived here day in and day out for the entire school year. Twice a year they had the opportunity to go home for a couple of weeks at the most. Then they had to return. They needed good food and clean clothes to wear. They needed adequate healthcare and things to do in their spare time that didn't include doing homework. So new books were needed for the library as that was the only entertainment here the students didn't pay for themselves. So yes there was a school budget fund Albus had control over. And if he was dipping into Harry's accounts you could almost guarantee he was dipping into that fund as well. Which might explain why there was no show nights or concerts here and why things like that stupid Ball last year was such a big deal. But then they didn't have music clubs, art classes, or drama classes to learn or practice those skills either.

Because his two rightful pay sources didn't grant him the lifestyle he felt he deserved and had grown used to. But he couldn't afford to siphon off much from the school accounts as they were periodically checked by the School Board. And really, considering the only things to do here outside of classes and homework was play quiditch or go to the Library, that fund probably wasn't very large. So that had left the bulk of his needs to be met by Harry's accounts which, until recently, the goblins had been happy to go along with. They no longer were and that was keeping the old man distracted from the school which was probably the only reason Harry was actually having a quiet year.

Madam Umbridge, the new Defense Professor, kept giving him odd looks in her class as he wasn't challenging her statement to the class that Voldemort hadn't returned as they had been told he had. Considering most of the students hadn't heard any such thing they mainly gave her puzzled looks for her statement. Only the Unholy Duo ever reacted as she expected. Albus swore the madman had returned and told them that Harry knew he had. So they gave her the reaction she'd been expecting and tried to get Harry to confirm it for them when he'd remain silent saying nothing.

But, for Madam Umbridge the Minister said he hadn't and the Minister, according to her, knew best. It had been clear to Harry that she'd honestly been expecting him to react to that blind statement but he hadn't done so. Weasely and Granger did. But Harry hadn't. When other students had turned to look at him in confusion, he had simply ignored them and sat patiently waiting for her to finish her tirade. When she told them to read their books, he did so. He never raised a fuss in her class any more than he did in his other classes. He simply went, did what she instructed and then left. Usually without saying a word. So Granger and Weasely were her targets of choice. Not Harry.

After the class, several of his classmates had asked why he hadn't argued the facts with her and he had quietly told them, "Because it would do no good. She's a Ministry Spy sent here by the Minister to shut down any opposition to the Minister. And because Cornelius Fudge is scared to the point of turning his green short pants brown, he refuses to admit there might be any truth to the rumors of what happened at the end of last year. So it is her job to cover it up along with anything else she thinks the Minister doesn't want the people to know about. Because that's what she draws her first paycheck for."

"Understanding that, speaking out against her in class would get us nowhere. We gain nothing by it as she'll never believe us over him and given her position here, she's the one with the power to enforce her belief. Not us. Therefore, it's better to keep quiet, stay true to what we believe and just go along with her indoctrination until she's forced to admit she's wrong. Or until she's proven right which is actually a lot harder to prove."

"But what about our Defense Owls? How are we to pass them if she isn't actually going to teach us anything we need to know?" asked Seamus Finnigan.

"Just because she, the Ministry and your parents seem to be ok with you graduating deaf, dumb and stupid doesn't mean you have to, you know, Finnigan. You all know where the library is and how to use it. Everyone of you knows how to read a book. And you can all read and speak Latin. If you can't, what are you doing attending school here? There is no rule in the rule book against practicing on your own or asking another teacher you know can do the spells to help you learn them. Both Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick can help with that. We saw Professor Snape back in our second year when that popinjay tried to run a Dueling Defense Club. And Professor Flitwick is reported to have dueled on the professional circuit long enough to have won the title ten years running. I believe even Professor Sinistra has some experience with Defense spells. I know Professor Vector does as she often spars with Professor Snape in the dungeons on the weekends. I bet even Professor Sprout has some things to teach us about using nature for defending ourselves. Go to them and ask for help. Arrange times to practice under their watchful eye and tutelage. Defense class is not the only place to learn to defend yourself. And a bad teacher or course curriculum isn't a good reason to fail your Owls as they seem only to last a single year here. At least I've never had the same teacher two years in a row."

Word had spread through the school and it wasn't long before all the student body had heard Harry Potter said not to challenge her. To just let her ramble about her beloved Ministry and practice their defense during their downtime. Needless to say a lot more students had taken to haunting the library for books on good defense practices and spells. The Defense Study Hall was also completely filled up every weekend from right after breakfast until the dinner hour with fifth through seventh years as students who were trying to make up for the deficiencies in their Defense lessons. Third and fourth year students crammed the room to it's limits after the dinner hour until curfew. First and second years were whining and complaining because they couldn't find a place in the Defense Study Hall.

The five Professors, he had named, found themselves besieged by upset fifth and seventh years afraid they'd fail their end of the year exams with her as their teacher. In the end, they'd set up a time and a place to teach the practical lessons of defense to the students. Because yes. Professor Sprout did have some ideas about using nature to defend yourself. They arranged a rotation schedule amongst themselves wherein one of them was always watching over the study group. Even Madam Pomfrey arranged to be present to heal mistakes as they occurred as well as teach the rudiments of basic field healing. And when Professor Sprout was leading the Study Hall, somehow all the other teachers involved managed to show up for the lesson. The students taking part in the Revolving Instructor lessons loved it. It quickly became the most popular class in the school.

Madam Umbridge was so busy taking the mickey out of Hermione and Ron because they refused to shut up about the return of the Dark Lord and her teaching curriculum, she didn't pay any attention to the rest of the students. Harry had known those two wouldn't be able to keep their mouths shut no matter how many people told them they were simply making life harder on themselves by arguing with her. Hermione was too convinced she was always correct in her beliefs and Ron was simply too hot-headed to ever stop and think before he spoke. Harry often thought about asking Ron if the old adage 'ignorance is bliss' was really true or not. But he figured the question would more than likely go over his head without mussing his hair.

More than once the pair had tried to drag Harry into trouble with her citing he was the one who had seen Voldemort return and could confirm what they were saying was the real truth. But it had never worked because while Harry wouldn't deny their claims, he wouldn't confirm them either. And the swelling of their faces seemed to her to mean they were lying about him being their source of information. Because as she understood it those marks were only to swell up when they were lying again. Which really, they were. While he fully believed Dumbledore had told them he'd confirmed it to himself, Harry hadn't told them any such thing. They'd been told lying to or about him wouldn't be tolerated any more. They'd also been told they could no longer act against him in thought, word or deed. Trying to get him into trouble with a teacher qualified as acting against him. Which was being disloyal to him yet again. While his silence might not have been showing loyalty towards them, the magic of the runes had never called for him to be loyal to them. They owed him loyalty. He didn't owe them.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. Ahhh, Ice cream. Vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce topping. The perfect remedy for mouth fires. Yesss. (Delicious too)**


	30. Ginny's Realization

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Thirty: Ginny's Realization

It was well into October now, almost the end of the month and the Unholy Trio were learning full force just how miserable a school year could be when you were always in trouble and had no one really willing to help you or even just be near you. Especially Ron and Hermione. They were used to being the most popular kids in Gryffindor simply because they were always the ones with the freshest word on Harry and his doings. But now no one trusted them. No one would listen to them. No one even wanted to talk to them at all. Other than each other and Ginny, they had no one to talk with or hang out with.

Not that they actually had time just to hang out and talk to their classmates. When they weren't in class or serving a detention or attending a mandatory meeting in Professor McGonagal's office, Hermione insisted on doing research to find a way to punish Harry for hurting them. She was obsessed with the idea. Their waking time was completely full, due to their inability to understand the game was no longer in their favor. None of them would learn to just shut up and deal with the situation.

Hermione kept insisting Harry had used Dark Magic against them when even Professor McGonagal had told them it was Judgement Magic which is neither light nor dark. No one could get it through her head it wasn't Harry's magic that had been used to mark her but her own. She wanted to be the victim here and since she was the one with the ugly tattoo on her face she hadn't asked for, no one could get it through her head she was no such thing. Harry had been her victim for years when he didn't deserve it. Everyone tried to tell her she deserved the mark and to just learn to live with it. But she didn't want to. She wanted to make him remove it and then she wanted him punished. And if no one was willing to punish him for her, she'd just have to do it herself.

Ron just kept ranting and raving. He was angry. Plain and simple. And when Ron was angry, he just couldn't help but share it. Any little excuse to vent he took. The whole school had heard how upset he was over the drastic change in his school life. He completely blamed Harry for his misfortune and not for a second would he hear anyone who tried to point out it was his own bad or lack of judgement that had created the situation that had allowed everyone to find out what a traitorous friend he truly was.

His favorite topic for ranting was Quiditch. He just couldn't understand why Angelina had kicked him off the team. Nor would Professor McGonagal or Madam Hooch make Angelina re-instate him. He didn't see it was exactly the same situation as the times he'd convinced the team to expel Harry. Only this time the allegations were true. And while he did know Harry was a good Seeker, in his eyes, he was a better Keeper than Harry had been Seeker. Every chance he got to corner Angelina, he presented her with new plays she could train the team in and badgered her to let him back on the team so they could win more games.

And then there was the plays he kept trying to present to her as new strategies to win more games. Every time the team lost a game, Ron would go ballistic and claim it was because she wasn't listening to him and giving his plays a chance. He simply wouldn't understand his dreamt up plays wouldn't work. That they were dangerous and would only succeed in getting someone seriously hurt or killed. Because not everyone could fly like Harry could. Hell, no one could fly like Harry could. Somehow he had convinced himself that being a master chess player on a family owned board, also meant he was a Master Strategist and by using that gift, he was a natural choice as the go-to guy for new plays on the quiditch field as well. His position as Team Keeper also meant he was the natural choice for the next Team Captain when Angelina graduated so he kept trying to show her the plays he dreamt up and trying to force her to use them. The rest of the newly structured team took to running interference for her as there was no talking to Ron on the matter.

Ginerva was spending the bulk of what free time she had trying to find a way to cover the rune on her face and crying over the destruction of her looks. She just didn't understand why if Harry hadn't wanted her he hadn't just said so. Instead, he had marred her beauty making it so no one else would want her either. That wasn't fair. She deserved a good future but with this ugly mark, it wasn't likely to happen. So she spent what free time she could find in her room crying as she tried and failed to cover the blemish.

Not for a second did she stop to realize she'd taken his coin without his knowledge or permission to be his potential woman. Operative word there. Potential. Not certain. Not wife or lover or girlfriend either. Just woman. And more than once he had actually told her he did not, and never would, want her. In that manner or any other. Yet she had kept taking his coin and hanging around him trying to force the issue against his clearly stated will. More than once she'd spread rumors throughout the school stating that she would be his bride because they had an agreement. And more than once she'd turned another girl away with vicious lies simply because she felt threatened by the girl. But by taking his coin for that purpose, she'd ruined any possible chance she might ever have had at a good future for herself. And now everyone in the school knew she had. It was bad enough they all thought her to be a thief. No. Knew her to be a thief. But knowing they all knew she'd taken coin from him to keep herself free for his needs just made her shame complete.

She, unlike Ron and Hermione, had given up any and all ideas of forcing Harry into removing the mark. She had heard what the Professor was telling them and did understand even if they did succeed in cornering him and trying to force him to remove them, it wouldn't work. His magic wasn't anchoring the mark to her face. Her own magic was. That meant he couldn't remove it unless he was willing to battle her magic to do so. And she was smart enough to realize that would hurt her. Badly.

She'd also given up any pretense of having friends or even people willing to listen to her or follow her direction. She didn't have any clout with the student base any more. This mark had told everyone she wasn't and never had been Harry's girlfriend and future wife no matter what she said to the contrary. At best, it let them all know she was nothing but his bought and paid for bit of fluff on the side. Because the rumors that had swirled around the Castle made certain to include what Harry thought her future prospects would be. And he'd said flat-out he thought her future to be that of someone's mistress. Not wife.

To her way of thinking, that was why he had marked her. Because he didn't want anyone else to marry her. And in that he'd succeeded. No upstanding boy with deep coffers ever would, considering this mark would tell everyone exactly who she was. She knew the story of Harry marking them had already escaped the Castle. Sue Bones had made that clear to them shortly after it happened when they'd been loudly complaining about it in the halls. So even when she finished school, she wouldn't be able to find someone who wouldn't know her on sight.

Unlike Hermione, Ginny wasn't enrolled in Runes so she didn't know what was branded on her face until she had asked Professor Babbling about it at the end of September. The Professor had shown no concern for her feelings and bluntly told her the truth. She was the bought and paid for property of Harry James Potter. When Ginny had gasped and turned red, the Professor looked her in the eye and flatly said, "What did you think taking coin to be his potential woman made you, Girl? You may have thought you had a promise of being his wife in the future but did you really? That's called a betrothal contract, Girl. And if you'd had one of those, that mark wouldn't be on your face now."

"Because you took his coin knowing exactly what it entailed, you agreed to be his kept female. That he didn't actually broker the deal with you or have any knowledge of the arrangement, just degrades your status even further since the person who did broker it, is in no position to act in that manner legally on his behalf. Which is why there was no contract attached to the offer." She had stressed that last sentence to make sure Ginny heard her and got her point.

"You didn't even have the intelligence to get yourself a residence out of the arrangement. So he isn't even required to keep you in a real house. And didn't you attend the Yule Ball with Mr. Longbottom? I'm sure I'm not the only person who remembers seeing you there with him. That rune on your face says you had no right to be there with him at all. Add to that, your conduct with Mr. Corner and Mr. Thomas and that labels you as an untrustworthy whore who cheated on her patron. And that is exactly what that rune will tell anyone who can read it."

"But I haven't. . .I. . .Professor Dumbledore said," stuttered Ginny.

Professor Babbling cut her off. "I don't care what lies the Headmaster told you. Nor apparently does Mr. Potter. The fact of the matter is, the Headmaster wasn't the one you were to hold yourself in abeyance for. Mr. Potter was. It was his coin you were knowingly taking." "What is even more disgusting is that you owed Mr. Potter your life for him saving you in your first year here. Your own magic should have told you the Headmaster was lying when he said Mr. Potter didn't save your life because the phoenix was his pet and bonded to him. Your magic pulls towards Mr. Potter. Not the Headmaster. Because it knows Mr. Potter risked his own life to save you. Not the Headmaster. But instead of trying to rep[ay your debt to him, you aided others in tearing him down and trying to ruin him. Both his reputation and honor as well as his person. You're magically born and bred, Girl. There is no excuse for what you and your brother have done to him all these years."

Ginny had sighed as her shoulders drooped. She glumly nodded to show she understood the Professor. Once more the Professor stated the most salient points for Ginny just to make sure the girl understood her. "You owed him your loyalty and respectability from the moment you agreed to be his girl when he was ready to date and you didn't give it to him. He deserves a virtuous girl. Not used goods. Not even the Headmaster set a time frame on that. You took coin to hold yourself free for Mr. Potter's use. You _knowingly_ took coin to be with him which means you owed him your fidelity. Then you stepped out with not one but possibly three other boys without first clearing it with him. You were raised in this world unlike Ms. Granger. You know that is against the rules, Ms. Weasely so don't try your lies on me."

She had leaned forward to pin the girl in her place. "And that you bear that rune now tells me you knew exactly what you were doing at the time you did it. That mark wouldn't be there if you didn't. You were judged by your own magic and soul, Ginerva Weasely. And you were found guilty. Now leave my classroom as I have a class to teach and you aren't in it."

A trip to the library with Hermione and her grumbling brother had let her check a runes reference book. That had told her the Professor had told her the truth. The rune simply labeled her as an adulteress and a thief because even kept women were supposed to be faithful to their patron. And taking money while not being faithful to your patron is stealing from him unless he agrees to it beforehand. Much like a wife couldn't step out on her husband and their vows, neither could a mistress step out on her patron. And whether she liked it or not now, she knew she had agreed to be Harry's kept woman. The Headmaster had never really tried to lie about what he was asking her to agree to. Oh, he had prettied it up but he'd never actually lied.

He had offered her pay if she would agree and her Mum had been ecstatic at the mere idea that one day Ginny would marry Harry. But the Headmaster had never actually said that. Headmaster Dumbledore had paid her to be his girlfriend and future wife with the full approval of her parents and herself. But he had never actually said Harry would ask her to be his girl. Just as he hadn't actually said she would be Harry's wife.

As the Professor had explained. She was paid to be available for him in that capacity but that didn't ensure it would happen. And she had nothing in writing to back up the Headmaster's promise. Which meant in this world she had no legal recourse should he fail to follow through and offer her respectability.

Harry had never once intimated he desired her in either of those roles which was why she hadn't seen a problem in dating Michael or Dean. All of them had been perfectly happy to brush aside Harry's wishes in the matter. Now she would pay for it. Nor could she be upset that Michael and Dean weren't also paying for betraying Harry. They hadn't had an agreement with him or taken coin from him. Nor had they been dishonest in why they wanted to date her. So really, they weren't in the wrong as she had been free to turn them both down. She could've even explained to them that she was under contract and both would've stepped aside. She knew that. But she'd wanted to be desired. She'd wanted a real boyfriend she could be seen on the arm of.

It took the entire month of October for her to come to terms with her isolation and the ruination of her face. But by November first, when once again the Headmaster was missing from the Castle, and unlike her brother and Hermione, Ginerva was no longer ranting and raving over the disfigurement. Nor was she acting out in her classes. It wasn't actually necessary to draw the attention to herself in that manner. Now that everything had come out of the shadows and everyone knew how the three of them had taken advantage of Harry and stabbed him in the back multiple times, she was all too easily noticeable as it was. For once, she found herself wishing she wasn't.

But she was surprised to note it wasn't actually her betrayal of Harry that brought her the most vicious and hurtful retribution. It was the simple fact she had been the one opening the chamber during her first year here. Too many students had been petrified while she was doing that. And Colin had actually died which made her a favorite target for Denis, his little brother and number one fan.

Denis had adored Colin and it really hurt him when he had died. He'd been vicious in his grief towards Harry because Ron and Hermione had told everyone it was Harry opening the Chamber. It was one of the first rumors he had heard when he came to school here. 'Harry was using his parcelmouth ability to open the Chamber.' 'No one else could open it because Harry was the only parcelmouth in the school.' And yet, that was nothing but a lie. A lie spread by her brother to protect her reputation while tarnishing Harry's. And she knew it was a lie. But she had let it stand. Because she'd always felt relieved Denis was targeting Harry over the death of his brother. She had never apologized to Harry for the attacks he was undergoing for her actions. Nor had she ever apologized to Denis for her role in his brother's death. Because that would be admitting she'd done wrong. Wrong that had harmed and was harming others. Because she could see, even back then, her bad act was hurting Denis. A boy she hadn't even known at the time she was committing said bad act.

Now he knew better. Now he knew she'd been the cause of his brothers death. And the memory of the things he'd done to Harry spurred Denis on to make certain her life was no easier now than Harry's had been then. He wouldn't physically attack her because she was a girl and Colin wouldn't want him beating up a girl. But he still found ways to make her miserable. Oil in her shampoo bottle. Water in her ink well. Salt on her stash of sweets. Anything he could think of, he did. He'd even found a way to plant fiber eating bugs in her wardrobe so her clothing was full of small holes now.

For Ginny, it just made nowhere in the Castle a safe place for her to be as Denis, like Colin, was a Gryffindor. And Colin's ghost followed her through the halls making it obvious to everyone exactly where she was at all times. In death, Colin was no less of a pest than he had been in life but now he was determined to make her pay for her sins. Because in life, Harry had been Colin's hero much as Colin had been for Denis. And both the ghost boy and the live boy wanted to make her paying for hurting their hero. And there was nothing she could do about it. Because they were right. She had gotten the one killed and hurt the other. But worse she'd let an other innocent take the blame for it.

But the teachers had noticed Ginny's apparent change of heart. They'd noticed she was no longer trying to tell tall tales or claiming she would marry Harry when she grew up. They even noticed her focusing more on her studies and gathering less often with Ron and Hermione. They were watching her but they also lightened up on her detentions. So she was getting a bit more breathing room and had more time for her homework as a result. She still had a lot of ground to make up but there was light at the end of the tunnel for her. If she stayed the course she was currently treading, that is.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. This is shorter than my other chapters but when I sat thinking about who would wake up first, the obvious answer was Ginny because she's a year below Ron and Hermione so they have each other to share their misery with. But she is getting a truer taste of the isolation and the bombardment from the ire of the teachers. Therefore she'd wake up to reality first.**


	31. Albus Wakes Up

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

 **I honestly don't know what happened with this chapter. When I sat down to write it, this wasn't at all what I had in mind to write. Yet no matter how many times I have attempted to change it, it always ended up being exactly what it is.**

Chapter Thirty-One: Albus Wakes Up

Late in November and after his second Bank run of the month, Albus finally called the Trio of Misfortune to his office for a long overdue meeting. He had finally realized the school had turned on the trio over something but he had no idea what that something was. He'd also decided it was past time he made his disapproval of their marking of their faces clear to them. He decided since the children weren't getting the message their classmates were giving them, it was time he informed them to remove those disgusting marks at once. So he had called for them to meet with him to discuss the matter.

To his surprise, both Professor McGonagal and Professor Snape as well as Madam Pomfrey showed up along with the Trio. While he wouldn't have minded them being present if it was Mr. Potter he needed to chastise, he didn't like the idea of them overseeing his meetings with these particular students. He was well aware the trio of adults wouldn't understand the tasks he assigned to the young people and would more than likely object to his instructions to them. So his first order of business was to get them to leave the office for now.

"Professors," he smiled and twinkled, sincerely confused as to why they were here. "I'm sorry but I arranged a meeting right now with Mr and Ms Weasely and Ms Granger. Could we perhaps handle your concerns at a later time as they do have a curfew and this really can't be put off any longer?"

"The meeting you want with them is exactly why we're here, Albus," snapped Professor McGonagal, not bothering to hide her ire. She was at the end of her patience with this group of students. They absolutely refused to listen to her and she'd come to the conclusion they'd never respected her in any fashion. As if they had, they wouldn't be so steadfastly refusing to listen to her now. Severus had already moved to his customary shadowy corner where he could see and hear everything but be unobserved by the collective.

Madam Pomfrey nodded adding somewhat playfully, "We've discovered they have a nasty tendency to lie even when they know they'll pay for it. Painfully. So I'm here to monitor them and keep them on their feet. Their marks have begun to render them unconscious when their nasty little habit goes on for too long."

Albus frowned. He had no idea what was going on but it was clear to him his deputy was highly upset with the children over something and Madam Pomfrey clearly had no sympathy for them either. "Well, I really only called them here to find out what is going on and why the students seem to be upset with them. I can understand the students being upset at their use of body art but their behavior seems a little extreme to me."

He turned to the trio of students and said, "I know you probably believed you were starting a new fashion trend. And I applaud you for the idea. But I'm afraid you chose the wrong avenue to do so. Our recent history has made the use of body art highly stigmatized by the public and so it'll never catch on. I must insist you remove it at once and find a different venue to impress your peers."

Hermione spoke up before anyone else could. "We didn't do this to ourselves, Headmaster. The students are upset because Harry did this to us. And he says he won't undo it. We've tried to make him. Even begged him. But he laughs at us and refuses. A few of the other students have even suggested he undo it before you saw what he did to us. But he's not listening to them either. Not surprising since he never does listen to anyone except you." Her cheek began swelling at an alarming rate.

Madam Pomfrey tutted quietly. "And there she goes again. Lying her head off and implying things that aren't true just to get another into trouble."

Hermione glared at the Matron before focusing her attention back on the Headmaster. "The other kids are all afraid of him. So they don't want anything to do with us in case he thinks they're siding with us and he does it to them as well. None of them want to run the risk of being marked as we are. Just because we told him something he didn't want to hear and tried to make him obey school rules. Show the teachers the respect they deserve. He got angry and marked us. On our faces. And then lied about what he did. Claimed it wasn't dark magic. We all know it is. Claimed it wasn't his magic he used. But who else's would it have been? Claimed he can't remove them when he's the one that put them here. Of course, he can remove them."

Blood was seeping from the rune. She was wobbly on her feet and struggling to remain conscious but she knew this was the chance she'd been waiting for and wasn't about to give in and pass out now. Her voice was a thready whisper but she struggled onward knowing she had to make her point and let the Headmaster know just how badly his staff was letting them down this year. "But they won't make him do so. They bought his lies and won't even try to make him. Nor will they make him apologize for doing it to begin with. They won't even punish him for it. When he clearly deserves to be punished. They claim it was his right as our Patron to punish us for what he sees as our misconduct towards himself. As if! He isn't my Patron."

She began to plead with the Headmaster. "Make him undo it. Please. I don't deserve this. I can't return home with this. . .this . . .disgusting thing on my face. I just can't."

Minerva spoke before the Headmaster could. "You've been told and told, Ms. Granger. The power to remove that mark is in your own hands. And it is his right as your Patron to discipline you in any manner he sees fit. That you so clearly do not like said punishment strongly suggests it is most appropriate for you."

Severus nodded and from his corner added, "Mr. Potter can't remove it for you even if he wanted to. Which given why it's there, and the whopping lie you just told the Headmaster, I'm sure he doesn't. The children of this school aren't afraid of Mr. Potter and you very well know it, Ms. Granger. They're staying away from you and your cohort because they despise you."

"What, Severus? Ms. Granger lied to me? How? Did Harry mark her as she said? Is he refusing to remove the mark now?"

"She lied when she said the other students are afraid of Mr. Potter. They are not. She lied when she said she has begged him to remove it. She hasn't. She demanded he remove it but she never asked him to do so. Nor did she beg it of him. She has demanded we, the staff, punish him for branding her and her cohort while making him apologize to them for his actions against them. We chose not to because what he did isn't against school rules and we have no authority to do so. She lied when she said the student body is upset he marked them. They aren't. The students are upset with the three of them because the student body knows those marks would _NOT_ be there if they didn't deserve to wear them."

Minerva took over. "As for the removal of the marks, Ms. Granger has been told multiple times, and by multiple people, the removal of the mark is in her own hands. Not Mr. Potter's or anyone else's. She refuses to listen because that isn't what she wants to hear. So she keeps insisting he remove them and that we, the staff, make him comply with her demands. Naturally, we won't because we know he can't."

Albus was looking from one person to another as the teenagers began to argue with the adults over the matter. He couldn't believe this. Harry had marked them and the teachers seemed to believe he had the right to do so. These children were Albus' pawns. How dare that brat mark them! But wait. How did he manage this? And why?

He interrupted the fight to ask, "Why did he do this and why did no one stop him? This isn't something that should've been allowed at Hogwarts, Minerva. The only magic that results in marking people against their will or without their consent is of the Darkest Magic imaginable. Not even Tom used this foul magic when he branded his followers. From what I'm hearing, the children didn't consent to being marked as Tom's followers did. That they bears these marks so clearly against their will says the magic Mr. Potter used to effect it is of the darkest magic imaginable."

He shook his head in mock disappointment and adopted a very grave look as he chided his Professors. "You should've stopped him from using Dark Magic here. The last thing we need is Harry Potter turning dark in our halls. What will the public think when it gets out we allowed their hero to go dark on them. Mr. Potter must be punished for this offense and made to remove his branding immediately. Then we must isolate him from the student body and curtail his movements and closely supervise all his interactions and study materials. We can not let this continue or we will have another Dark Lord on our hands."

Severus rolled his eyes and snorted. He wasn't surprised at the Headmaster's ploys. Minerva also rolled her eyes as she muttered, "Oh stuff it, Albus. You're just trying to play your games again and this time I'm not biting. He's not a budding Dark Lord and there was nothing dark about this. It was old magic. I'll grant you that much. But it wasn't dark." Severus smiled slightly. Maybe his lectures to her had finally taken root.

Hermione's chin shot into the air as she heard the Headmaster confirm her own beliefs about the disfiguring mark. She began to smirk. Somehow she just knew the Headmaster was going to make Harry pay for disfiguring her and she planned to enjoy every second of it. She'd suffered for months now because of that brat and even her grades had fallen. He would pay for twice as long as she had suffered. Plus, however long it took her to get her grades back to where they belonged. She dearly wanted to tell the Professors, "I told you so," but didn't dare be that disrespectful towards them. Though they deserved it. With their recent behavior, they'd only dock more points and give her another detention.

Of course, it went without saying the Headmaster would make the brat remove his branding. Probably within the hour. She crossed her arms under her breasts and pranced over to one of the more comfortable chairs where she could observe the coming fight when Harry was called here to explain himself and undo what he had done to her. She really needed to sit down as her head was swimming as the brand tried to render her into a state of unconsciousness again. Her smirk fell as Ginny managed to get her voice heard for the first time that night.

"You don't understand, Headmaster. Professor McGonagal is right. Harry didn't use dark magic against us at all. He may have started this," She waved her dominate hand towards her face to indicate her branding. "but it wasn't his magic that branded us." She frowned as she felt her rune swelling. "No, that isn't true either. Harry didn't start this. We did." The tingle of the swelling receded and she sighed in quiet relief. The last thing she wanted was blood streaming down her face like Hermione had right now. Or to be fighting to remain awake and aware as she was.

"He only chose to use old magic against us to make us pay for our crimes against him. He didn't even choose what form that magic would take against us for our wrongs done to him. All he did was trick us into confessing our guilt and then call for Magic's Judgment on us."

"Shut up, Ginny," Ron bellowed. "I did nothing wrong. Neither did you. We did exactly what the Headmaster told us to do when he told us to do it. That brat had no right marking us like this. I'm not his servant and neither are you. Nor do I enjoy walking around with the mark his magic forced on me being the first thing anyone sees when they look at me."

But Ginny didn't care what her brother said. She'd come to terms with things and knew he was wrong. "Oh? she asked in a falsely sweet voice. "He asked you to hit Harry in the back with a chunk of plaster knocking him into the passage into the chamber head first? I wasn't aware he told you to try and kill our Patron, Ronald."

She turned back to the Headmaster who was frowning more heavily now. "It was our own magic that did the marking. And it's our magic that holds them in place now. Not his." She continued speaking more quietly as her own shame rose to haunt her. "He can't get rid of our brands because doing so would mean sending his magic to battle against our own innate magic. That would hurt us and he doesn't want to when it isn't necessary. He said the marks will disappear when we have atoned for our wrongdoing against him and met the conditions he set for us."

"And according to what Professor McGonagal told us, the magic he called upon, when we confronted him about our payments, isn't dark magic at all. It was old magic. Judgement magic. He tricked us into confessing the wrongs we've each committed against him in front of witnesses and then called upon the old forgotten magic of days and times past to render it's judgment. We were found guilty by magic by the guilt we each felt in our hearts and minds. We did know what you were asking us to do was wrong, Headmaster. But we chose to do it anyway."

"What?" asked Albus weakly, his mind racing as he tried to understand what had happened.

Hermione and Ron were both grumbling about how they didn't feel any such guilt and how Ginny needed to shut it if she didn't want to lose the last two people who'd even talk to her these days. Both knew her confession could very easily cost them their last possible support in this issue because they both knew they'd disobeyed the Headmaster. He didn't take being disobeyed lightly and neither wanted him to be angry with them because both of them knew those who disobeyed him suffered for it greatly. But Ginny wasn't listening to them.

Ginny ignored the grumbling of her brother and his girl as she continued speaking. "Back in September, when you left the Castle for a few days, we were really upset and angry over the recall of our vault keys. I know you told us to leave the matter in your hands and you'd get them returned to us but we knew you'd met with him right before you left the Castle. So we figured you'd softened him up for us or something. I'm not really sure what we were thinking actually because now that I think about it that was a really stupid idea."

"Anyway, Hermione convinced Ron and I there wasn't any need to wait for you to get our vault keys back for us. She convinced us Harry was so stupid we could easily bully him into returning them to us without him ever realizing what the keys actually went to. So we decided to track him down and confront him. I know you told us not to but we wanted access to our money again. We were arrogant and stupid. Both Ron and I had school supplies we wanted to replace because what Mum bought for us was in really poor shape and embarrassing. And Hermione wanted more books, of course. Plus, she wanted to remind our peers Harry was under her heel making her superior to them all somehow."

"We got Professor McGonagal to tell us where we'd most likely find him by hinting we wanted him to return to the Tower common room and hang out with us. You know our routine. We wanted to establish our dominance. Get him into the tower where Ron could trounce him at chess again making everyone believe Harry was so stupid even Ron is smarter than he is. And he'd be browbeaten by Hermione over homework assignments so our tower mates would spread the word he was so dumb he couldn't even pass his classes without her help. While I hung off his side establishing for all our friends that I was his special girl. But we never actually planned to bring him back to the tower at that time. All we really wanted was our keys. She told us we'd most likely find him in the Library so we went there without a moment's pause."

"We were really uppity with him and so arrogant we weren't really paying any attention to what we were saying. He got us to admit everything in front of witnesses and that was our mistake. Then he invoked Magic herself calling for Magic to render judgement upon us for our bad acts towards and against him over the years. We each, in different ways, used him for what we could gain from him and we'd admitted every bit of it. The end result was the brands we now wear."

She was sad but resolute as she spoke to the Headmaster. "You know we have done him wrong just the same as we do. With full knowledge of what we were doing. Each of us, in one way or another, has caused him to be placed into harms way. Again, with the full knowledge of what we were doing at the time. We did this with the knowledge that while you were the actual person paying us for our actions, the money was coming from his accounts. Meaning that we knew _he_ was actually the one paying us. Not you. Therefore he was our Patron. Not you. And we were betraying him. While Hermione might not know or understand what that means in this world, Ron and I do. We know what it means to be under a Patronage in this society and we knowingly acted against the best interest of our chosen Patron."

"Nor can it be denied that we knew he was our Patron rather then yourself. We all knew, as evidenced by the fact we tracked him down and confronted him in the library over our keys no longer fitting our vaults as soon as we knew you weren't here to stop us. I think a part of us wanted to watch him squirm knowing we knew more about his inheritance than he did and were drawing money from his vaults probably to a larger degree than he does. Well really, considering the clothes he wears and supplies he uses, there's no probably about that. We were spending more of his money than he does. But things didn't go the way we thought they would. Instead of us pushing his back to the wall and making him cave before us, he turned the tables on us."

The teachers were standing tall and proud as Ginny explained to the Headmaster what had occurred that past September day. Severus had cast a mild silencing charm on Ron and Hermione so they wouldn't interrupt her or shout over her preventing the Headmaster from hearing the truth from her.

"We walked into his trap and it snapped closed behind us. He was able to call upon Magic herself to sit in judgement on us. Naturally, the magic found us guilty of our crimes against him. Because we were guilty. Are guilty. Magic can't be fooled as easily as people can be. The brands we now wear are the visible signs of our guilt that we all know we feel. Even if Hermione doesn't want to admit it and Ron's too busy being angry to care. But then Ron is the only one of us that actually has a permanent mark he'll never be free of. So I guess it's to be expected he's still angry about it. And brains is something Ron's never been accused of having in mass quantity." Ron couldn't help but flush in anger when he heard his sister say that. He _was_ smart enough to know that was an insult.

The three adults nodded, looking proud of her for owning up to the situation and admitting her mark was her own fault. For the first time since the markings Professor McGonagal said, "Ten points to Gryffindor for your honesty, Ms. Weasely." Ginny gave a small smile of pleasure.

"In truth, Headmaster, I knew when you offered to pay me to be his potential girlfriend, it was wrong. But Mum, Da and Ron were so happy over the idea, I let myself be convinced. I'd already been exchanging letters with Ron for a good year helping him do the task you appointed him. So I really didn't stop to think just what you were offering me pay to be. Or what it would mean for my personal honor or reputation when it got out to the public. And it was always going to get out what I was being paid for. I know that now."

"But at the time, I wanted to be his girlfriend so badly I figured what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Then when first Michael, and after him Dean, asked me if I'd like to date them, I said yes because Harry didn't appear to know I was paid to be his girl. Again I figured what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him." She lifted her head to glare at him. "But he did know. How he knew, I don't know. Nor does it matter. The fact is, that's why I'm now marked and for the life of me I've no idea how to atone for it. But I do know I need to atone if I ever want it to go away. Which I do because a respectable life after school is out for me if I cant get free of this mark. Anyone who can read runes will know exactly what it is and no one will make a respectable offer for me so long as I bear it."

Speaking off the top of his head, Albus intoned, "Forgiveness is a virtue, Ms. Weasely. Mr. Potter simply needs to be reminded of this. I'm sure once I explain it to him, he'll see that he needs to forgive you. That you've done nothing to atone for. Then he'll reveal exactly what dark magic he used to cast that ugly brand on your pretty face. We'll find a way to remove it," Albus finished with a smug smile. He was certain he could convince the girl to see things his way. After all, her entire family saw things as Albus wanted them to. She'd be no different.

Ron snorted as he once again burned through his silencing charm. Severus sighed. That damn boy burned through more silencing charms. . . Anger clear in his voice, Ron declared, "That brat doesn't forgive betrayers, Headmaster. I told you that before. I told you way back in our first year, the two worst things he believes a person can be is a betrayer or a liar. He thinks we're both. He won't be forgiving us." He jerked a thumb towards his Head of House. "And according to her, we need to ask him to forgive us instead of just having you tell him to. I'm not asking that Brat to do any such thing."

"I'm not asking him to forgive me for anything either," Hermione screeched incensed that anyone might believe she even should. She too had burned through the silencing charm from her outrage that anyone might even consider she should apologize to someone. "I did nothing wrong and I'll be damned if I pretend I did simply to feed his ego."

"Well, as Harry told me in the Library then," muttered Ginny, sneering at the angry older girl. "Prepare to be damned then. Because that rune on your face tells everyone a different story." Rolling her eyes she muttered, "And this is the girl that actually took Ancient Runes," causing Severus to smirk at her sarcasm.

Ron ignored Ginny's comments while also sneering at Hermione but Minerva said, "Oh? So he offered to pay you to lead him into traps where he could've gotten hurt, killed or expelled from school? He told you to run all over school trashing his good name and honor to the student body? Taking credit for things he did while blaming him for things he didn't? Implying he should've done things to resolve dangerous situations faster when you knew damn well he never should've, or would've, been involved at all if not for your pushing him into them? situations you were well aware wouldn't be resolved until he," she indicated the Headmaster causing said man to squirm uncomfortably, "told you to lead Mr. Potter towards so he could resolve them." Hermione just glared and lifted her chin higher.

Severus raised an eyebrow at the girl. He silkily added his own question to Minerva's, "He offered to pay you to get him lower grades in his classes? By doing his assignments for him?" He had been furious when he went through his records and discovered that over half of the essays he had graded bearing Harry's signature weren't in his handwriting. A process of elimination had led him to comparing the writing to students who had access to his work before it was turned in who also shared his class. That had led to the discovery that those assignments were all written by Hermione Granger. Yet he knew they had been in his writing when he'd graded them or he would've called him on it for cheating. That meant she had to have been using magic to change her handwriting to his so he wouldn't notice the substitution. Clearly, when he'd gone looking through the saved work, the magic she'd used had evaporated allowing him to notice.

Minerva turned to Severus raising her own brows in question as she fairly yelled, "She did WHAT?"

This revelation had Ron turning on Hermione in very understandable anger. "You did his work but you wouldn't even help me when you knew I needed it far more than he did?! Work, I know damn well he never asked nor expected you to do for him. Work, you had to go out of your way to get to him as he hasn't been in the tower for years now. He didn't need your help at all for Potions, Mione! Potter understands Potions far better than I ever have or will," Ron yelled. "He always has."

Hermione rolled her eyes and shrugged. Speaking condescendingly she explained, "It was part of what I was being paid to do, Ronald. Professor Dumbledore said Harry didn't want to draw more attention to himself than was necessary. I had to work hard to pull his grades down in Potions because he's naturally very good at it and it's hard for him to maintain a middle of the class standing when it's so very easy for him. The Headmaster told me not to even bother with his Defense marks because everyone expects him to be good at that. And those marks don't really matter all that much in the real world. After all, the only thing someone can do with their life from having good marks in Defense is fight and any idiot can get into a brawl or three. But Potions is different. A lot of doors open when you're good at Potions. Doors, the Headmaster said he had no need of as he's going to become an auror when he finishes his schooling. So I had to pull his grades down in that class." Ron was still glowering at her, not at all appeased by her explanation.

She sighed over having to explain all this to her dimwitted boyfriend. "We all know Harry hates drawing attention to himself. His grades could do that if they rose too high or dropped too low. Professor Dumbledore said it would help Harry if I looked over his work to make sure his grades didn't cause him to stand out. Or cause people to question his future occupation choice. He said Harry wanted to be a middle of the class student. Neither too bright. Nor too dumb. But his early training of him caused Harry to not really know or understand what was normal knowledge for kids our age. Or raised in a completely muggle environment. So sometimes he'd do an assignment too well. I needed to go over what he'd write and adjust it for the middle of the class ranking he wanted to maintain. When he'd write an essay that would cause his grade to rise too much, I'd write a different one and use the spell the Headmaster taught me to change my writing to match his. Then I'd switch the new essay for the one he wrote on our way into the classroom. It was pretty easy to do, really. And he's so stupid he never once caught me at it. He never even questioned why I was handing him his assignment roll on those few occasions when I didn't manage the switch before we sat down."

Minerva glowered furiously. She turned on Albus and with a very thick accent slurred, "You paid a student to defraud another of their rightful grades, causing a skewing of the student standings? Did yeh ev'n bahthah tah think abou' the cost tah Ms. Granger should it evah behcum known what she did fer yeh? Merlin knows, yeh neveh bathahed tah think abou' Mr. Pottah feelings. Or reputation. Clearly, wha he'd be thinkin' 'bout somethin' nevah once entered yeh mind at tal."

Albus quickly forgot all his half formed schemes to use the trio's markings against his puppet in the all consuming need to smooth over this new crisis. He scrambled quickly to find an explanation that would suffice never realizing it was already too late. MS. Granger had already burned the masts down to the hull on that particular ship. "Now, now, Minerva. Don't get your temper all worked up. There was no harm done. Harry passed all his necessary classes and what grades he received has little or no bearing on the information he gained over the course of the year. And Ms. Granger kept up with all her own work just fine. Her standing in the rankings wasn't affected at all by the little bit of extra work she was doing to keep attention off of our Harry. The dear boy has enough attention focus on him as it is. He should be thankful she was willing to do this for him and that I thought of it. Nor has it in any way hindered his possible future prospects. He can still become the auror he told you he wishes to become. Just like his Father was." He was desperately trying to remind her of James hoping to derail her back into her usual litany of how Harry was such a disappointment to the memory of James. Whether it would've worked or not he never got to discover as Severus decided to weigh in on the matter.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong, Headmaster," purred Severus. "You see, when I discovered the assignments I'd been grading as Mr. Potter's weren't actually his work, - because I do have samples of the work he has turned in so far this year to compare the old work to - and discovered who's work it actually was, I also decided to look at the work of that student. I do have recent copies of that students work as well, you know. It was rather easy to discover Ms. Granger has been turning in Mr. Potter's work as her own since half way through her first year here. So her standing, at least in my classroom has indeed been affected by what you asked her to do. Because the marks I have been giving her for what I assumed was her work actually aren't the marks she should have been given at all. They were Mr. Potter's rightful marks while his were hers. Mr. Potter should've been competing with Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Greengrass for the top position in my class while Ms. Granger should have been barely scraping by with an Acceptable. Had I known what her true level of understanding was, I could have assigned her to a remedial class to improve her understanding because her brewing ability is above average. Only her theoretical work is lacking. But because of her deceit, I didn't do any such thing and now she is five years behind in understanding the theory behind potions and catching up in time to pass her Owls is nigh on impossible for her."

Hermione paled. She'd never considered that angle before. "I'll fail my Owl exam?" she whispered questioningly.

He nodded. "At this point in time, yes. You currently do not possess the necessary knowledge to pass the written portion of the exam. Even if you make a flawless potion, it won't be enough to pull your overall grade up to passing into Newt Study. To give you a chance however, you will be in remedial classes every weekend from now until the end of the year with extra classes over the school holidays to bring your understanding up to where it should be by this point."

But Minerva disrupted that idea with her shouted words to Albus. "You idiot! Now that I know wha the lass did and have heard the lass admit it from her own mouth I've no choice but tah expel her from Hogwarts!" Minerva yelled, hearing but ignoring what Severus had said. She took some deep breaths to try and get her temper under control less her strong accent make her unintelligible. Hermione's eyes had flown wide at hearing the word expelled attached to her name. She was beginning to hyperventilate while Minerva, now slightly calmer, continued her tirade.

"What she did counts as cheating because she tampered with the assigned work of another student with the intention of lowering their grade while raising her own. She even admitted she did so without the express knowledge of the student involved which means only she is guilty of breaking the school Charter and By-laws against cheating. Even if she had no plans to use the work the student did for her own benefit, she knowingly was lowering his marks which would've naturally elevated her own. And from what Severus has just told us, she intentionally planned to use Mr. Potters own work to elevate her marks by turning in his work as her own. At least in his class. But I've no doubt if she did it in Potions, she more than likely did it in other classes as well. Meaning the standings across the board for her year group are skewed. That's a clear cut case of scholastic cheating, Albus. It's against the school charter as well as the by-laws and as an administrator of this school I've no choice in the matter. Congratulations, Headmaster. Your scheming and games have destroyed a young witch's life and future."

Minerva turned to Hermione and formally said, "Ms. Hermione Jean Granger, you are hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for cheating and gross misconduct towards another student. Please hand over your wand as you are no longer entitled to possess one." A snap of her fingers brought a house-elf into the office. Ginny was standing wide-eyed and astounded in the far corner of the office which she had moved into when Hermione was being taken to task once again by the Professors. Ron automatically moved away from Hermione and towards the corner she was in, positioning himself to block her from the view of everyone else while trying to place himself out of the line of sight as well.

To the arriving elf, Minerva stated, "Please go to Gryffindor Tower fifth year girls dormitory and pack all Ms. Granger's belongings. Then bring them here. Make sure you get everything that belongs to her and remove anything that doesn't. And check every piece of parchment using your magic to ensure it actually belongs to her. Place anything you find not belonging to her on my desk. I will handle returning it to it's proper owner at a later time. She will be leaving us tonight."

Severus had already turned to the fireplace and called the Ministry. He, too, knew the charter and knew Minerva had no choice in the matter now that she knew what had taken place. Ms. Granger had to be expelled. His plans for the remedial had only been in case Minerva forgot her duty to the school and allowed Albus to overrule her in the matter. Clearly, Minerva would do no such thing. So aurors needed to be called to escort Ms. Granger from the grounds as she certainly wouldn't go quietly. Plus, she was underage and thereby required an escort to make sure she arrived back in her parents care without undue harm to her person.

Albus had his wand in his hand and it was clear he was trying to stop things from going so far. But he couldn't. For some reason, even though Minerva was standing perfectly still his confundus spell kept missing it's mark. Nor could he hit Severus with a spell to stop him from calling the aurors to escort Ms. Granger from the Castle. He had no idea it was the school itself that was hindering his spellwork. Albus had long since forgotten Hogwarts, being imbued by the magic of the Founders and the bleed-off of thousands of students over the past millennium, was sentient in it's own way. Once the charter had been invoked, the school was able to defend it's administrators in the performing of their duty.

Minerva spoke to Hermione with heavy bitterness. "I'm severely disappointed in you, Ms. Granger. I thought you were an intelligent lass but clearly you aren't nearly as intelligent as you portray yourself to be. You may have read Hogwarts: A History but you clearly neglected to read the Hogwarts Rules and Regulations. Or at least, if you did read them, you didn't understand them. Either that or you, for some misbegotten reason, assumed those rules do not apply to you. As a result, you let someone convince you to destroy your own life. For money," she spat.

Hermione was in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was expelled? From Hogwarts? Her life was destroyed! How could this happen? She turned towards the Headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore, tell her. Tell her she can't do this. You said this would never happen. That Harry wanted me to dumb down his work. That it wasn't cheating. That he gave permission for me to use his work as my own when I didn't have the time to do my own for dumbing down his." She began to panic. "This isn't right. She can't do this. I belong here. I've worked so hard to earn my way and get where I am. You said I was doing him a favor and he'd thank me for it later when he had time and space enough to understand. Tell her she can't do this." Her breath was coming hard and fast. Her voice was a thin whisper of sound as she hyperventilated.

Behind her a new voice entered the conversation. "She has no choice, Miss. It's in the charter and since you freely admitted what you've been doing in her hearing, she's contract bound to expel you. Just as she would've been had it been any other registered student. Indeed, I and my partner have also heard you admit you were falsely representing yourself using another students work as your own while altering their work so as to lower their marks. Now please turn over your wand. I'm afraid since you're still underage, I have to keep that as you have been expelled from this institution. I hope your parents selected a secondary institution for you to attend should your Hogwarts placement not work out when they registered you to attend Hogwarts."

"What? But. . .What am I supposed to do now?" She was on the point of breaking down and succumbing to a crying fit.

"I and my partner will escort you to the Ministry. Another team has already been sent to your home to bring your parents to the Ministry so they'll be with you during your questioning. We'll ask you some questions in the presence of your parents. If you did select another school on your registration form, it may be possible for you to transfer there immediately. If you didn't," he shrugged. "A decision will be made as to whether or not to snap your wand and bind your magic. It may be possible for you to hire a professional tutor to help you so you may take your Owls. Even if you didn't select a secondary school, there may be one with an opening willing to take you on as a student this late in the year. But depending on your answers to our questions, the Ministry may decide not to give you that option," said Kingsley speaking slowly and clearly.

"Now, Kingsley," interrupted Albus. "Surely this isn't necessary. It's all just a misunderstanding. Minerva over-reacted to what she heard and blew it up into something it isn't. Ms. Granger hasn't been cheating and the charter of the school doesn't apply. She was merely helping another student maintain the grade point average he wished to maintain. That's all."

"That isn't what we heard, Professor," said Kingsley serenely.

"No, I didn't," the woman in question declared hotly. "I wish I had. But I very clearly heard her admit she rewrote Mr. Potter's assignments behind his back and without his permission or knowledge with the clear intention of lowering his marks. Assignments which she went out of her way to switch for him without either his knowledge or permission. I also very clearly heard Severus say she then used Mr. Potter's stolen assignments as her own in the Potions classes she took with him. That not only caused her own marks to be elevated in the rankings and lowered Mr. Potter's standing even further but it skewed the entire year's results as well. What she did not only hurt Mr. Potter; it hurt every student in her year."

"I'm going through the rest of the Gryffindor's of her year now to see if she tampered with any of their work as she did his," admitted Severus. "For someone with her personality, I find it hard to believe Potter is the only student who's work she dummified. I do know she has a very hard time when other students know something she doesn't or get the answer to a question right when she answered, or would've answered, incorrectly."

Minerva sighed. "I can see a lot of long nights ahead of us to try and find out just how wide spread her cheating was." She glared at Ronald. "And if I find one single assignment of yours that's not actually in your own hand or in words you actually know the meaning of, you'll find yourself out of here as well, young man."

Ron scowled and grumped. "I did my own work, mostly. My turned in assignments were all written by me and in my own words. Sometimes my brothers or Potter would help me with but she never would. She always said she had too much to do preparing for whatever the Headmaster told us was going to happen that year and with her own classes and stuff. Potter, when I did get him to help me, insisted I actually do the assignment before he'd help me with it. Then he'd look it over to correct my spelling and grammar usage. Or point out places where I could add more to make it better or where I was incorrect. I usually didn't bother adding more but I'd correct my mistakes. Sometimes he'd explain stuff I didn't get but I didn't really want to hear it. Neither he nor my siblings ever did the work for me."

Silkily, Severus said, "That is good news for you, Mr. Weasely. If it's true but we all know what a liar you are. So you'll excuse us if we don't take your word for it."

Ron rolled his eyes but didn't bother to answer the charge as he knew the Potions Master liked him even less than Ron liked the Potions Master. He watched silently as Hermione was forcibly removed from the Castle in the company of Kingsley and his partner. The magic of the Castle had already removed her name from the student rolls and any images of her as a student now had a black ribbon with a large golden 'C' trimmed in silver cutting across it. Nor could the ribbon be removed as it was now a part of the picture. She'd been formally expelled and the ribbon was a mark of her disgrace. It had been a long time since a student was expelled but Hermione Granger wasn't the first. Nor was she likely to be the last.

Albus was too busy floundering, wondering just how things had gotten so out of control to notice when the two remaining students as well as the staff left the office. He'd watched silently as Kingsley and his partner had led the distraught Ms. Granger to the fireplace and ushered her through the flames with all her belongings. All he could think was, "Now what will I do to control Mr. Potter?"

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading.** **I honestly don't know what happened with this chapter. When I sat down to write it, this wasn't at all what I had in mind to write. Yet, no matter how many times I have attempted to change it, it always ended up being exactly what it is. This chapter definitely had a mind of it's own and took my story in a direction I hadn't originally intended it to go. Oh well. We'll just have to see where the story wants to go now.**


	32. History Lesson

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

 **I was asked by a guest reviewer to please stated how many chapters I plan to upload each day with the first chapter I get uploaded. Unfortunately, there isn't a schedule to this so I really can't. Sorry. But until I put a chapter into my Doc Manager, I really don't know if it'll be uploaded quickly or not.**

 **As for the proof reading I've heard some tell me I need to do more of, if I proof read it anymore I'll start quoting it word for word. I know there are still mistakes sometimes but I clean it up as best I can. And every single proof reading tends to lead to more information being written in. So really now. Is a little more proof reading really what you want?**

Chapter Thirty-Two: History Lessons

Severus decided to stop by Potter's room to give him a heads up and warn him to be alert as the Headmaster was likely to come after him now that he had finally noticed things in the Castle weren't running according to his whim. He knew Albus would be calling the boy to his office as soon as he recovered from tonight's events. Likely as not as soon as he'd figured out exactly how he wanted to spin Ms. Granger's expulsion and the marking of the three students. Potter deserved to be warned so he could be prepared to defend himself and not be blindsided by the old man yet again.

Not that Severus had any intention of allowing him to face the Headmaster alone. Now that he understood what the Old Man had been trying to do and how intelligent as well as how Slytherin Potter actually was, he was determined the Old Man wouldn't destroy the boy as he had so many others. Himself included. Because looking into Potter and recognizing how games had been played with the boy and his reputation and image had forced him to realize that for the Old Man to have succeeded as well as he had, he'd have to have done this before. That had him looking through piles of Hogwarts records and transcripts.

For the first time, he finally understood the bond of hatred between the Dark Lord and Albus Dumbledore. The Dark Lord was afraid of Albus. Not because Albus was any more powerful than himself really. More because Albus had already been the cause of so much suffering and pain for him, it was hard for him to realize he didn't have that power any more. The Dark Lord wasn't a helpless, defenseless child any more without resources or affiliations of his own to call upon. Still old lessons tend to stick with you and Albus had taught his lessons very well.

Seeing that had allowed Severus to look at his own situation with clearer eyes as well. He could now see how Albus had played him just as easily as he'd been playing with Potter. He'd made sure the Marauders never really got into trouble when they'd ambush the Slytherin students. Especially Severus. He controlled Minerva to the point where he almost could be said to do her thinking for her. It was clear in how she almost universally blamed Potter for everything that went wrong in the Castle during the last four years.

And since he had Slughorn by the balls, -literally- it had been just as easy to make sure the Slytherins got into trouble every time they defended themselves or retaliated. Slughorn had been a disgusting man who collected children as naturally as some people collect stamps or rocks. He was also a little too fond of them for his own good. Especially well born sons of high-ranking and influential people. He would then blackmail his chosen victims later in their adult lives for political favors as he needed them. And Albus had known it. So naturally he'd used that small indiscretion of his to bend him to Albus' will in the matters between Gryffindor and Slytherin House. Consequently Slughorn had never bothered to stand up for the students of his house just as Albus never stood up for Slughorn's victims. Or interfered in his choices so long as the student Slughorn chose wasn't a Gryffindor.

It was no wonder so many of his classmates had gravitated to the Dark Lord. They had answered his call because they were hurt and angry after seven years of abuse and mistreatment in the Albus run Hogwarts where anything and anyone Slytherin was automatically bad just because he said they were. The foreign born and educated Death Eaters and those who hadn't attended Hogwarts during Albus' tenure didn't have that excuse but they more than likely had their own reasons.

Harry was sitting on his bed reading a book Madam Pince had recommended to him about the old magic and the days when simple laws were all a man needed to live his life right. The book covered the customs of the time to explain why the Old Laws existed. In those days, most magical people didn't carry a wand or even use a staff to wield their magic. It was understood that if you had magic, and you desired to do something bad enough you could do it if magic allowed you to. It was a simple concept but very telling in it's simplicity.

To the people back then, Magic wasn't seen as something man controlled. Rather it was a gift you'd been granted access to just like your hair or eye color. You could wield if your intent was clear and your reason was sound. The magic people did was no better or worse than the magic being done today. But people back then didn't think like the people of today did. They used both dark and light magic equally and not all harmful things were done solely with dark magic spells just as not all helping magic was done with light spells. People seemed to have had the thought that magic was magic. Plain and simple. It was the intent of the wielder that determined if the spell was good or bad. Not the spell itself.

Some people could do what is now termed dark magic spells much easier than they could the so-called light spells. Other people were the opposite but they did the same magic no matter which group of spell casting came to them easiest. Nor did it make one group of people good people while the others were bad. People were people and no one is all good or all bad. Everyone has some of both the good and the bad within them. It was the choices a person makes that determines how the world will see them.

The law only got invoked when someone crossed the line and hurt someone else who took offense. And judgement magic, such as the spell Harry had invoked against the Trio of Misfortune, was never questioned. People had accepted it as fact that if the accused wasn't guilty they'd walk away unharmed. And if the accuser was only accusing to try and harm the accused, the accuser would pay the price for it. If they were guilty, magic would take her payment for their abuse of her gift. People back then had never questioned whether or not Magic was sentient enough to do things like that. They just believed it could.

Much like Harry believed there was no one he wanted to send a letter to that Hedwig couldn't find for him. He knew so long as that person was alive, she could. Even if he didn't know their name or direction. Such as when he wanted to find an alternative for Hagrid to get his wand rights and Owls. He'd written to the Headmaster or Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy and Madam Maxim had answered his inquiry with directions on what he needed to do. She'd also given him the name of someone in the French Ministry of Magic to contact and written a Cover Letter of Introduction for him so Hagrid could regain his wand rights in France. As a result, Hagrid now held a Mastery in Care of Magical Creatures. In France. He was also applying for some kind of a degree having something to do with his supplying Potion Ingredients to people but Harry didn't really understand that one as it wasn't a Mastery in Potions. Nor did he truly care so long as it was what Hagrid wanted for himself.

But in the old days people had seemed to understand using magic's gift meant being responsible with it or paying the price for misusing it. What payment Magic would demand depended on the crime of the accused really but statistics showed age of the accused might also be a factor. Children were rarely punished as harshly or as permanently as adults. Usually children received some kind of a behavior or teaching rune to help them learn how not to misuse their gift. Much as his three tormentors had. And sometimes guilty people did walk away relatively unharmed but that was usually because they truly didn't believe what they'd done was the wrong thing. They believed they'd had just cause to do what they did and so while they might be punished to an extent, it wasn't all that severe.

The old laws had been so simple and straightforward even children could understand them. In those days the Ministry, while technically the governing body for the magical people, hadn't really had anything to do with their lives. It'd existed solely for the purpose of making sure the non-magical world didn't discover the magical one. And that was only because many of magic's children were clearly not human. Goblins, gnomes, centaurs, elves, trolls, dragons, unicorns, sphinx and Mermaids all needed to be protected and hidden from the non-magical populations. Their job had been to keep non-magical people from seeing all the other races of magical people. Nothing else. Fairies and leprechauns made their jobs a lot harder than it should've been but that was all the Ministry was meant to do for the magical world. It was never meant to be the center of a government.

There hadn't been a Wizengamot in those days. It wasn't needed. When a grievance needed to be heard and judgement rendered that magic couldn't handle - not that there had been many of those - the people involved would convene a tribunal to hear the case. The tribunal would consist of three people. Hence why it was called a 'Tri'bunal. One member of each blood class (the accused and the accuser) and the third to be an impartial party. Usually all three would be from the home district where the trouble began though the impartial person would be someone who didn't know either the accused or the accuser by name, sight or reputation. It was often this third person who'd determine the outcome of a tribunal case simply because they were unknown to either party. It had been fair and no one had claimed otherwise as far as Harry could tell.

But somewhere along the line someone in the Ministry decided to change things. Either they were power hungry or just greedy. Either that or they had an axe to grind against the tribunal way of settling disputes. Whichever the reason, the Ministry proposed a bill that allowed for the formation of the Wizengamot to be a court system for people who broke the laws. A little footnote on the bill that had allowed the formation, allowed the new Wizengamot to create, draft and vote on new laws for magical Britain for which they included both Scotland and Wales under the British Ministry. Up to that point in time, both magical Wales and magical Scotland considered themselves to be separate from magical Britain. But when that little footnote went unchallenged in the Ministry, both countries lost their right to set the rules for their people.

Naturally, the first law the Wizengamot made was to outlaw the tribunal system of justice and mandate that all cases involving the breaking of the law had to be heard before the Wizengamot so as to assure both the accused and the accuser a fair trial. It is the nature of any government to outlaw that which circumvents itself. And the British Ministry of Magic was setting itself up as the center of the British magical government.

While some districts refused to obey the new Wizengamot, going underground with problems in their area, others welcomed it since their non-magical brethren had a similar central body for their government. Others felt they would be more likely to win their cases if total strangers were hearing both sides of an argument rather then locals who knew both parties involved. Gradually, the old laws had been set aside as the new Wizengamot crafted laws to give themselves more and more power and to make more and more things legal or illegal depending on which way would benefit them the most.

It was really the acquisition of Azkaban that changed things, though. People found themselves forced to follow the Wizengamot's rulings or face time in Azkaban. But never did the Wizengamot actually outlaw using judgement magic to call upon magic itself to determine the guilt of a person accused of wrong doing. What Harry had done to Granger and the two Weasely's was still completely legal. Because he wasn't a tribunal by any stretch of the imagination. And it was only the tribunal system of hearing legal cases that had been outlawed.

Slowly people stopped calling on Magic to assist them in using their gift. With the passing into obscurity of the old common laws, old traditions and customs had fallen by the wayside as well until no one actually remembered they didn't need the Wizengamot or their wands half as much as the Ministry needed them to need them. And the cessation of commonly used rituals to celebrate the traditional holidays or strengthen a persons connection to magic was a natural outgrowth of that.

With the help of the Wizengamot, the Ministry passed laws regulating the use and creation of wands by which they could keep track of the people by making certain only select people of their choosing were licensed to make and sell them. And of course by insisting that each new wand carry a tracking device monitored by a new department within the Ministry, letting them know where and when each was used. They also passed a law that made it forbidden to practice magic without a lawfully owned and registered wand. That meant all witches and wizards had to go to those shops they approved of to get their first wands if they wished to continue using magic in their daily lives. Which is why it's considered such a heinous thing even now to break the wand of another witch or wizard. You're literally telling them they can no longer practice magic.

Which led to the first magical shopping district in London which was where the Ministry was. Because why would someone from Scotland or Wales or even northern or southern England go all the way to London just to buy a wand if they couldn't also get books, clothes food and toys there as well. That shopping district is known today as Diagon Alley and Ollivanders was the wand shop the Ministry approved to make Englanders their wands.

The Ministry spread a lot of propaganda about how using wands was safer for children who didn't have control over their growing cores to encourage the parents to purchase the wands for their children. And to cover up the fact they wanted a measurable method of keeping track of their people no matter where said people called home. In time, those children grew dependant on their wands, forgetting their parents hadn't used wands at all or coming to believe they themselves were more powerful than their ancestors had been because they had a wand. Because of this reliance on wands, magical society overall forgot magic was their gift and not their birthright. And the old ways slid into forgotten history.

A knock on his door signaled the end of Harry's reading time. He knew it would be Professor Snape on the other side as no one else except Mr. Filch ever bothered him in his chambers and Mr. Filch had already stopped by for evening tea tonight.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading.** **Just an interlude after that last explosive story ending changer of a chapter. I'm still not too happy about that.**


	33. Changing Hogwarts Plots

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Thirty-Three: Plotting to Change Hogwarts

Harry set the book down when Severus knocked on his door. Knowing very few people would actually disturb him while he was in his rooms Harry answered the door and let the Professor enter the chamber. He said nothing as Severus waved his wand deadening the room to any surveillance Albus might have put into place in order to monitor the occupant. Both of them knew it was likely the wily old man had devices Harry hadn't yet uncovered.

He then took his seat in the easy chair Dobby had found for him when it became obvious the Potions Master would be a frequent guest. "I just stopped by to give you a heads up. The Headmaster met with your servants this evening and has discovered what transpired during his absence. Ms. Granger has been expelled since she admitted in front of Professor McGonagal and I that she has been cheating in order to achieve her grades and class ranking."

"It seems she's been dumbing down your work on his orders by substituting her own work for yours. Then she turns in the work you did as her own work to receive a higher grade for herself. Work, she admitted she's been stealing from you ever since your first year here. All so the Headmaster can control what grades you're given and keep people believing you are only suited to becoming an auror when you finish your schooling."

"Expect him to call you to his office to discuss the matter. I'd like for you to come get me before you meet with him however as I don't trust him in this instance."

Harry nodded. He'd been expecting the discovery and to be called to account for his actions in the matter. "What do you think he'll try?" he asked simply.

"I believe he'll try to make you feel guilty. Especially for what befell Ms. Granger. She, in front of witnesses, implied he told her to dumb down your assignments and that it was ok to use your work as her own. The girl doesn't learn from her mistakes obviously as that is exactly what got her the mark on her face. She seemed to believe he would keep her out of trouble for it. Though I do doubt those were actually the orders he gave her, it is what she said and it could get him in trouble if she repeats it to anyone else. I fully expect him to try and coerce you into admitting you wanted her to dumb down your work or agreed to allow her to submit your work as her own. Somehow, I can see him believing that will get her out of trouble while not getting you into any he can't use his influence to get you out of. Which of course would grant him leverage over you in the future as you'd be grateful for his help in remaining a student of Hogwarts. He could hold your future placement here over your head for the rest of your schooling if he got you to agree to bailing her, and him, out of the trouble her mouth got them into. In fact, even after you finish your schooling he could hold it over your head, if you agree to help her like that. Because it would call into question the validity of your qualifications and your honor no matter what you're actually involved in at that time. So yeah, I see him trying to get you to agree to lie for her." Harry grimaced in disgust.

Severus delicately lifted a shoulder. "No one ever said I thought he was above using blackmail, Mr. Potter. I know better. How do you think he keeps me here when it's so very clear I don't like teaching? He seems to honestly believe you didn't want to do well in your classes and needed her to make certain you didn't. He most likely feels she only confessed to her cheating because she's upset about the branding. That if she'd been more in her normal frame of mind, she would've known to never admit to falsifying either her work or your own in front of either Minerva or myself."

"I know he's upset over Minerva and I both insisting that mark wasn't formed by Dark Magic as she believes it was. So you can expect a lecture on being careful what magic spells you use and how the more esoteric spells we find can often be misconstrued for something they aren't. Or can be something we don't actually think they are until after we've used them. He will also try very hard to get you to verbally say it was Dark Magic you used against them though Ms. Weasely admitted she knows it isn't."

"And then of course, he'll more than likely trot out that old tired line about you needing to forgive people when they make mistakes. For that he'll drag Ms. Weasely into things because she admitted she knows full well what she did was wrong and that her mark wouldn't be there if she didn't. But she also said she has no idea how to atone for it. So he'll try to convince you it's up to you to forgive her and remove the mark from her face. He still doesn't comprehend only the bearer of the mark can remove it."

"I'm not forgiving that slag just to make him happy. She made her choice and that choice was not me. She wanted my fame, money and future social position but she didn't at any point in time want me. She willingly and knowingly helped her brother and Hermione to trash my reputation and honor any time she was upset about something. So it'll be a cold day in hell before I forgive her. Especially when she has yet to ask for it."

Severus nodded. "I know and I don't expect you to. Especially since if you do, he'll expect you to let her back into your social circle and be seen walking around with her on your arm again. Which would undo everything marking her did for you. He'll definitely imply, if not straight out accuse you of having used dark magic to curse them with the marks they bear. Especially the Betrayer's mark on Mr. Weasely since it's permanent. I'm not sure if he'll try to claim you did it knowingly or claim it was the Dark Lord's influence over you. It depends on his agenda. But he'll definitely claim you used dark magic. Whatever you do, do Not agree with him in any manner as that'll give him something to hold over your head for the rest of your life."

Harry's lips twisted with a bitterness he usually kept well hidden. "Which, with his track record, won't be very long."

Severus said nothing as there really wasn't anything he could say to that. Both of them knew the Headmaster had been trying very hard to get the boy killed. So far the boy had survived on sheer guts, determination and a whole lot of luck. What Severus couldn't understand was why.

Harry quietly answered the Professor's unasked question when he said, "He wants my inheritance and fame because he can't afford the lifestyle he enjoys on what he rightfully earns and contrary to what he lets people believe, he didn't inherit from his father's estate. His brother did. When I come of age I'll be the Lord of Five because I stand to inherit from five very well known Estates and each has at least one seat on the Wizengamot. He doesn't know that completely, I don't think. He knows I'll get the Potter estate. And he might know I'll be inheriting the Black Estate as well. But I'm unsure whether or not he knows of the others. I'm almost certain he doesn't. But you never know with him."

"Also I'm more popular than he is with a long life ahead of me -if I can escape his plans for me- while his time on this earth grows shorter every day. Do you think I could invoke Judgement on him as I did with them? I mean, he has been trying to kill me now for several years and he has to know that's what he was doing. Even the stupidest person knows that's wrong."

Severus frowned thinking about it. "I'm not sure. If you'd asked me this last month I'd have said definitely not. Mainly because I would've been certain he'd know what it was as soon as you tried it. But from his reaction earlier with the trio, he had no idea. But you'd have to get him to admit it in front of witnesses. As I understand things, that's a key component of the judgement. Besides which, you know he'd take it to the Ministry if you did invoke it against him and those who heard him admit his guilt would be called upon to testify for you. I don't think I'd be a creditable enough witness for you under the circumstances. Those who would be, he's not likely to make that kind of admission in front of. Not knowingly anyway."

"Yeah that's what I thought as well. The only case I can think of where that wouldn't be a viable option for him is if his admission was witnessed by a couple of important Ministry people personally. Then the problem would be getting him to make the admission needed. And there's always the possibility it wouldn't work even if I did get him to admit it. If he truly believes I need to die, then chances are good he won't believe he's done anything wrong. The accused has to believe they've done wrong by the accuser for Magic to find them guilty as charged."

Severus put his hands together and leaned back in his chair. "What we need to do is get someone like Kingsley Shacklebolt and Madam Bones here somehow where he doesn't know they are present. Madam Bones is likely to fight doing that as it smacks too strongly of deception for her ideals. Nor would Kingsley be all that fond of the idea as he too believes the sun rises and sets on the old man." He grimaced lightly. "But I'm also not sure doing this while that Ministry hack is in the Castle is a good idea. While dethroning Dumbledore has been a long time coming, the second he loses his position here, she'll be all over it like white on rice."

"Not if the Board elects someone else to the position and his boot to the rear comes as a result of having been replaced rather than the revelation of his crimes against me personally. I've already been working on the idea of getting him out of here." Severus looked surprised for once letting it show on his face and Harry grinned at him.

"Look at how much smoother the Castle is running this year. We actually made it through Halloween without anything happening to terrify the students. No calamity at all. No hints of a hidden secret or mystery to solve regarding something that's currently being hidden here in the school. Not even a scandal that's being hushed up to protect an unknown innocent. And it's almost Christmas break time. Why is that? I can think of only one thing different this year from all my previous years. He Hasn't Been Here all that much. Something else is pulling him away from the school on a fairly regular basis and he isn't really paying attention to what's going on. The smoothness of this year is a strong indicator that it's he who is the problem in the school and no one else. So I've been working on a plan to get rid of him. Sooner rather than later."

Harry told Severus bluntly. "And you know the Board does have grounds to replace him after all the stuff that has taken place during his tenure. I mean, it's not just been since I got old enough to come to school that things have been occurring. Myrtle is a teenage ghost, you know. Like Colin, the only reason she's here is because this is where she died. We're lucky Diggory didn't come back as a ghost. Or Krum. This is where they both died as well and the whole Tri-Wizard thing was his idea. He oversaw all the challenges and everything. So, in a way, both their deaths are his fault. Especially when you remember it was supposed to be non-life threatening."

"But he wasn't responsible for her death. He was only the Transfiguration teacher back then," Severus said dismissing the idea of using Myrtle.

"He was also the Deputy Headmaster," Harry said gravely. "And the mentor of the boy responsible for her death. He knew, Professor. Right from the beginning he knew what kind of a child Tom was and he did nothing to help him improve his situation. He did nothing to try and undo the lessons Tom learned at the orphanage even when he knew Tom was using those lessons here in the Castle. Nor did he do anything to protect the student population against his inclinations. Just as he did nothing to help the nuns control Tom when he went back to the Orphanage each summer or to protect the other orphans that lived there. He also did nothing to rectify the situation when Tom framed Hagrid for Myrtle's demise. He knew Hagrid didn't open that Chamber just as he knew Hagrid's pet at the time couldn't have killed Myrtle. He still has done nothing to get justice for Hagrid even though I killed Slytherin's true beast in my second year and everyone now knows what it really was."

"I'm not saying we can actually use that to oust him from his lofty seat here. I'm only saying there are skeletons in his closet. So many he has to fold his clothes and store them in his dresser because they won't fit in the closet. I think if we go digging through his years here, Professor, we'll find many instances where he has, to one degree or another, been involved in many very dangerous and harmful incidents, if not illegal incidents, where the student body as a whole or one student in particular has paid the price for his actions. Or inactions, as the case may be."

Quietly Severus nodded murmuring the name, "Slughorn."

"Hermione is but one example. Do you honestly believe her parents would've allowed her to accept his bribe if they knew what he was asking her to do? Or even if they knew why he was asking her to do it? To say nothing of where the coin he offered her was coming from. That's not an excuse for her wrongdoing. She did know it wasn't his coin to offer and she was well aware her accepting it qualified as stealing since she has from time to time freely admitted she knew my vaults and wealth were being concealed from me deliberately."

"She has also read Hogwarts: A History cover to cover. So she knew the by-laws regarding cheating and other students homework assignments. She isn't stupid. So when she read those by-laws, she knew what they said and understood being asked to monitor my class work was her being asked to break the by-laws and risked her own enrollment. She also knew the cost of getting caught breaking the by-laws was expulsion. She just likes sucking up to authority figures and if she can do something for them no one else is doing or can do, all the better for her as she sees it as making herself indispensable to them. Then they will defend her when the other students or adults get upset with her for the way she behaves. So yes, she did expect him to make sure she never got into trouble for what she was doing with my homework."

He quirked up one side of his lips. "And by the way, Dumbledore never asked her to substitute my assignments with her own. He never even actually asked her to dumb my work down. He only asked her to monitor my work. He wanted to know what I knew and was learning so he could more aptly tailor the hoops he was having me jump through each year to fit my current abilities. She chose to do the substitution on her own because I'm smarter than she is and she wanted to be in the top ranks of the students of our year. She's always read a great deal and her word comprehension level is exceedingly high. But it doesn't translate for her into real world situations and every day living. In other words, she knows what she's reading and understands it right up to the point where she has to put it in her own words."

"Therefore, she knew she was breaking school rules as well as society laws. She just didn't care because she thought she wouldn't get into trouble even if she did get caught. Because she had his patronage and McGonagain likes her."

"Professor McGonagal, Potter. You don't have to like her or even respect her but use her full name and title please," Severus lightly scolded him. Personally he liked the nickname but it was disrespectful so he couldn't let Potter call her as such in his presence without correcting him.

Harry inclined his head but went on with what he was saying. "She thought Dumbledore could get her out of any mess getting caught would land her in. Besides which, it stoked her ego to know she could get marks outshining all the kids here who outrank her in other ways she can do nothing about. And no matter what she says, she is well aware Hogwarts is administered by the School Board. We may have a Headmaster but he's not in charge of the school charter. They are. But just as she got away with setting your robes on fire and with stealing from the student cupboards in our second year, she thought she'd get away with this because she thought his need of her services was too great for him to let her get into trouble over it. After all, she was the only student he hired to keep an eye on my study material. So she assumed he needed her far more than he actually does."

Severus didn't bother responding about Hermione. He knew Harry knew the girl far better than he ever would. And honestly, now that the girl was no longer a student of Hogwarts, he found he truly didn't care what became of her any longer. He knew there was still trouble to come from the girl. After all, she was sitting in an interrogation room at the Ministry right now being interrogated as to how she came to be expelled from Hogwarts. If said interrogator asked the right questions, a whole peck of trouble could be brewing for the school just because she'd been one of Dumbledore's paid stooges.

He pursed his lips as he considered what to do about Albus. "That's a good idea, Mr. Potter. We definitely should be able to dig up enough dirt on him to get the Board to dismiss him and replace him with someone else. Minerva is next in line for the job but I'm not sure if that is the best idea under the circumstances."

Harry gave his head a brief shake. "No. I agree and honestly I wasn't thinking of her in the role at all. Not only does she listen to our current Headmaster too much but she's still angry at me for calling for judgement on her three students. And she honestly believes I'll revoke the scholarships as well as extract further retribution. Not to mention all the times she's failed to do her job as well. You know as well as I do, she does little if anything to police her tower. Gryffindors know by their second month here they have to take care of themselves because she won't lift a finger for us. it's why your Slytherins have such a terrible time with the twins actually. Your students pick on someone from Gryffindor and the twins get even. They pick on someone else from a different tower, no payback. Pick on another Gryffindor, payback via the twins."

Severus blinked after a few seconds of listening wide-eyed as a correlation he hadn't seen was explained to him. Quietly and without really thinking about what he was saying he said, "Actually, she doesn't hold you responsible for their marking any longer." He came back to awareness. "She did at first and yes, she was angry with you then. But we, the other teachers got it through her head what you did and why. So she isn't angry with you about it any more. I can't say if she fears for the scholarships or not. She hasn't said one way or the other what she thinks of those. But just out of curiosity, who were you considering then?" he asked narrowing his eyes.

"I'd thought of you as it would please Mr. Molt and Lucius would definitely vote for you. But then I considered your tower and who'd most likely replace you as Head of House. Slytherins have been sidelined and poorly treated for so long now those kids depend on you. They need you to stay right where you are. As for the Molting toddler, he can get a much greater pay out with you as Head of Slytherin than he'll reap if you are moved to the Headmaster chair. Because in the Headmaster's seat you have to be impartial. You can't defend one over another based on what house they're in. Nor will you be able to talk with the students as easily. Which cuts down on your ability to recruit and train the students for him."

Severus hummed as he considered the matter before nodding. "Sounds logical and like something I can sell him when the time comes."

"So then I considered Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout. Both would be good but I honestly don't think either one wants the job. So that would leave a minor teacher which the charter seems to say isn't allowed or hiring outside the school which is allowed. And is, I believe, a better idea since if anyone currently on staff here is moved into the position, the current mess will bleed over on their tenure coloring every decision they make with thoughts of if they decided that because of their involvement or non-involvement with me and everything surrounding me. Not to mention each and every one of you was hired by him. So rumors would arise that he is influencing your decisions and still controlling the school even when he holds no position here at all. Plus, if any of the current staff was selected, it would leave a teaching position unfilled which he'd no doubt try to apply to fill. Most of which I do believe he has the credentials for. I can't really see any of the current staff refusing him a teaching position if he wants one. So there's a good chance we wouldn't be able to get him out of here at all really. Not if the new Head of the school is currently on staff, anyway."

Severus' eyes went wide as he took in what this child was saying. That was way beyond anything a child should be capable of thinking of. Politicians like Lucius would be capable of it but Potter was only a fifth year. "Who are you considering if I may ask?" he finally managed to ask. He really wanted to ask 'Who are you and what did you do with my dunderheaded student?'

"Lady Narcissa Malfoy or Lady Augusta Longbottom. Both preferably. One to act as Headmistress and one to be the Deputy Headmistress. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Both purebloods. Both women in support of tradition and culture. And both have a no nonsense attitude. Also, neither of them are someone Cornelius Fudge has a problem with though neither are in his pocket or filling his coffers. It'll also helps that they get along well with the current teaching staff as well so transition from Albus to them will be smoother." Professor McGona. .gal," he stumbled slightly over her name as he was used to referring to her as McGonagain. "Will have a bit of trouble adjusting but only because she fully expects the title to go to her as the current deputy. But the only real question I have, is can they get along with each other well enough to serve as a living example to the students. The students need to see Gryffindor and Slytherin can co-exist peacefully and still achieve their goals. For so long, we've had it shoved in our faces and brains that Slytherin is bad. Evil. Wrong. And Gryffindor is good. Light. Right. It's hard for us to see them as people just the same as ourselves. I mean, we know we're both good and bad. Not always right but not always wrong either. And we know the same is true for the other kids. But it's hard to remember that when we're face to face and someone says something offensive to us. The best way to combat that is by bringing in two adults who are known to be from opposing school houses and see them getting along together on a daily basis."

Severus had to admit he was impressed. That was a well thought out and reasoned suggestion. "Oh, very good, Mr. Potter," he purred. "They'll make a very fine team as no one can openly object to them. Both have raised children who have or are attending Hogwarts and they are of two different generations as well which I do believe is another requirement for the positions. Lady Malfoy is my age while Lady Longbottom is Minerva's."

"And yes, they can and do get along very well together as they serve on several charity boards together and attend a lot of the same get-togethers. Narcissa, through her husband, is connected to the Dark Lord though she herself doesn't have his mark and won't be taking it any time soon. Never, if she has her way about it. And Lady Augusta is definitely on the light side of the conflict though she has as little to do with Albus as possible. Together they'll be able to keep Hogwarts neutral which Albus couldn't do being the Leader of the Light as he is proclaimed to be. And in the process, they'll restore Hogwarts to a school of honor and integrity that it hasn't been for quite some time now. Things like what has occurred with Dumbledore's Triad won't be allowed to occur any more under their watch."

He considered the matter for a few minutes trying to anticipate any problems. Finally, he nodded and said, "I'll help you with this plan. I've already been digging into things since I discovered you weren't nearly as stupid as the student who's essays I was grading portrayed you to be. Which, you know you could've told me those essays weren't the ones you had written. What's your next free time?"

Harry ignored his comment about the homework as Severus had suspected he would. He was well aware Harry didn't bother to look at his returned assignments simply because he'd seen him tossing them into the basket by his desk still sealed after his classes for the day were over. The only time he looked at them was if he had questions about an answer he gave or if Severus made him. They discussed schedules for a few minutes before agreeing on a time to meet again to go over the data they had gathered and then Severus took down his anti-spying charms and left the chamber. Harry got ready for bed, feeling a good deal less stressed than he had in a long time. He also felt as if he wasn't quite alone any more.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. Moving the plot along at my own pace. Mosey Mosey.**


	34. Ginny Schools Ron

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do. Long chapter and a lot of review. But necessary for the character I see Ron as.**

Chapter Thirty-Four: Ginny schools Ron

Surprisingly, Albus didn't call Harry to his office the following day as they'd expected he would. In fact, he wasn't even in the Castle. Once again he'd found it necessary to visit the bank to try and get more funds from Harry's accounts so he could deal with the situation involving the Granger girl. He decided he needed to make her go away quietly. She knew too much damaging information and he hadn't had a chance to wipe it from her mind last evening. While he could do it at the Ministry that was taking a risk she hadn't already spilled what she knew. Or said something that would give rise to question he didn't want asked. Let alone answered.

She should still be at the Ministry right now undergoing an intense questioning process. Especially with that mark on her cheek. The aurors would definitely want to know what that was about. He wasn't even sure he knew what that was all about. The only things he was certain of regarding it was that Harry had done something that had placed it there and Ms. Granger was unhappy about it. Honestly, it didn't concern him half as much at this moment as her questioning by the aurors did. If she said the wrong thing, which he knew she was bound to do, he could be in some serious trouble. Just one hint from her that he was offering people money from Harry's accounts and he could count himself finished in this world. There would be no way to excuse that away, considering the whole reason he'd been appointed by the Wizengamot to be his magical guardian was to keep others from accessing his inheritance or using him to their own benefit. As usual he refused to understand or admit he hadn't in fact been appointed as Harry's magical guardian at all.

Yes, muggleborn she might be, but she could do some damage to his reputation if he didn't smooth things over by laying a little grease on the right palms. However, he was broke. So since Harry had caused this mess, Harry could provide the grease he needed. It wasn't the first of the month yet but he needed the funds NOW! He was determined to make the goblins give him some gold to buy the girl's silence.

Harry had Transfigurations that day with the rest of Gryffindor and Slytherin House. Minerva didn't once meet Harry's eyes as she went about the task of teaching his class. Truth to tell she was embarrassed and ashamed of herself. She'd been an educator for going on fifty years now. Ever since Albus had become the Headmaster and hired her to teach Transfigurations. She'd prided herself on never being fooled by a student over anything serious. Yet Hermione Granger had fooled her. Badly. She'd believed in the young witch. Stood up for her to her colleagues. Even defended her to her peers when they'd been understandably upset with her for her attitude and overbearing mannerisms. But the girl wasn't who she saw her as. Her moral compass wasn't as true as Minerva had believed it was. All last night she'd sat wondering if anything she'd seen in the young witch had really been there at all. It'd been a sleepless night for her full of second guessing herself and doubting the decisions she'd made in recent years.

But for Harry, her unwillingness to meet his eyes left him wondering if she'd finally begun to see the truth. Or if she'd decided she had a new reason for being angry and blaming him about something. Snape had said she wasn't angry with him and understood he hadn't done anything wrong in marking the trio but still. Her favorite student was now expelled and he was still here. He knew she'd been trying to get him expelled for years now. It had to be irking her that he was still a student when her favorite wasn't. And in a way he was responsible for that. He had marked the girl and it was that marking that had led her to being so brazen as to confirm her cheating in front of the Deputy Headmistress which had gotten her expelled.

He kept telling himself he wasn't the bad guy here. She'd chosen to back the wrong horse for the flimsiest of reasons and like all losers, her horse had faltered before reaching the finishing line. But a small part of him felt he was.

Still, Harry had every intention of throwing the entire pack of horses out of the race no matter who it's backers or jockey was, though. Out of all the staff, he knew she'd be the one most upset over his changes. But one way or another he had no intention of allowing things to go on as they had for so long now.

Albus Dumbledore had been the Headmaster for fifty years now and in that time the school had degenerated to the point where it was barely providing an adequate education for students who had parents to teach them at home during the summer the things Hogwarts no longer taught it's students. Forget about the students who didn't. Those students weren't even learning the basics of survival at all though they were the ones most in need of those lessons.

No Hogwarts student had classes teaching them about day to day life in the magical society. Such as how to maintain a home or fix a meal. How to tend their children or balance their monthly budgets. Heck, Hogwarts under Dumbledore's leadership didn't even teach you how to find a home or get a job. Instead, students learned to fear for their lives and to count each day as a blessing because you never knew when whatever was menacing the halls this time would strike out and hit you. Yes, murder, mayhem and chaos were the name of the day in Hogwarts Halls under Dumbledore's leadership. So Albus Dumbledore couldn't be allowed to remain.

All that would do is lead to another similar situation where Albus would play with the health and sanity of another child who had a fortune coming to them he felt he deserved more than they did. Of course, if he managed to get his hands on Harry's fortune again it'd be a long time before he'd need to hoodwink and/or kill another child for mere money. And chances were good he would die long before another rich orphan entered these halls. But so long as he was alive, having Harry's inheritance in his greedy fist wouldn't stop him from trying to get more. He had the sickness now and Harry knew children's lives meant little to him. He was too old to actually see children as real people.

So it wouldn't be long before another well-heeled orphan raised in the muggle world walked up and had the Sorting Hat placed on his head. Albus would begin seeing golden galleons that could be his every time he looked into the kid's face. And it wouldn't be long after that when he began playing with that child, determined to get that fortune under his control, before killing the child before said child reached adulthood. He had learned from Tom not to let the children he swindled grow up. Not that Tom had a fortune to his name. He didn't. All he'd had was an old title. A very old title. The Slytherin title. Harry had no illusions he'd been the first rich orphan to enter Hogwarts and he knew he wouldn't be the last either. So he would carry through with his plans and do his best to rid this world of one meddling, thieving Albus too many names Dumbledore, the would-be child killer. So while Minerva stewed in self-reproach and doubting herself, Harry stewed in his plans to free the world of a child killing Dark Lord in hiding.

Ron was too busy being lost without Hermione to bother him or anyone else now. Now that she was gone, he was finally beginning to feel the same isolation and rejection level Ginny had been feeling since the branding. It seemed Hermione had become such a part of his daily school life, he truly didn't know what to do or how to act without her around.

On the one hand, he was happy she was gone as she really had been a bossy know-it-all and was forever telling him what to do as well as how to do it. And when she wasn't doing that she'd be talking his ear off about how much smarter and overall better than him she was. And of course recently all her talk was about getting even with Potter. Punishing him for what he did to her. Even he with all his denseness had come to realize that wasn't going to happen. Not only couldn't they actually raise their wands against him right now, but they couldn't get anyone else to see he deserved to be punished either. No one, absolutely no one, believed he'd done anything wrong when he'd marked them.

But on the other hand, he had come to rely on her for companionship and for the answers when he didn't know them and didn't want to bother looking them up. That she was the only person his age who'd have a conversation with him this year, that didn't include accusations against him for this misdemeanor or the other, also played a part in his feelings of loss. For the first time since this horrible school year had begun and they'd been cursed by Potter, he began to understand what Ginny had been feeling. He was alone as he never had been before in his life and he just didn't know how to cope with it.

He still didn't understand why Ginny didn't seem to be angry with Potter though. Potter had marred her beautiful face. He'd ruined her chances of making a good match. But she wasn't angry with him over it. No, she was angry with the Headmaster. The Headmaster, their parents and him. Why him? He decided he needed to talk to her about it. Maybe try to help her see it was Potter she should be angry with. He caught up with her that evening after his detention in their common room.

"Ginny," he addressed her as he took a seat at the table where she had her class work spread out. "I want to talk to you."

Ginny glanced up with a sigh. "About what, Ron? I've got homework to do. So do you, I should think considering I know you had classes today and you had another detention this evening. So I know you haven't done any of it yet. So make it quick. Ok?"

Ron grimaced. He had a ton of homework not that it made a great deal of sense to him but he did need to get on it soon. "About Potter cursing us. Why aren't you angry with him any more? I mean. You were when he did it. I know you were every bit as angry as Hermione and I were. But last night. . . I mean, What was that about? You practically parroted McGonagal to Dumbledore. He could've helped us get Potter to remove these ugly things. But you sandbagged us. Why? He ruined your face. Marked you. Like you were his property or something. I mean, I guess I can understand if he didn't want you. He could've just told you that, though. He didn't have to go marking up your face and ruining your chances to get someone else. He destroyed your future, Ginny. Why aren't you mad at him about it anymore?"

"First off, he did tell me he didn't want me. I wouldn't listen. Neither would you. He flat-out told me I was nothing more to him than simply your little sister and he didn't like me in that way. He also told me very bluntly he didn't want me hanging around and off him like I used to do. He told me to find someone my own age to hang around and make friends with. Even pointed out a couple of kids in my year he thought could use my friendship. I wouldn't listen to him. He told me flat-out my hanging off him like I was, made me look cheap. That he didn't and never would care for me as I'd already proven I wasn't the girl for him. I can't count the number of ways he told me he didn't, and wouldn't ever, choose me, Ron. But I wouldn't listen to him because that wasn't what I wanted to hear."

"Instead, I listened to you and Hermione chew him out for hurting my feelings and not being willing to forgive me for my bad choice in my first year. But tell me Ron: When did I ever ask him to forgive me? When did I ask anyone to?" She paused for a minute to give him time to think and come up with an answer before she answered for herself. "Never. That's when. I walked around this school acting like I'd done nothing wrong. Acting like I had nothing and no one to apologize for or to. I let you and Hermione spread rumors leading people to believe he was the one opening that chamber and never said a word. I didn't want people to know what I'd done."

"Denis beat the living tar out of him on a regular basis for all of these last two years. Do you know why? Because Harry wouldn't tell him he'd gotten Colin killed. Harry wouldn't own up to opening the Chamber and turning the monster loose on the school. But why should he have, Ron, when he didn't do it? I did."

"I knew what was going on between him and Denis and said nothing. So did you and Hermione. All the two of you ever said was he should've found and defeated the beast before Colin died. That only compounds my original bad act in writing in that stupid diary to begin with. So many bad things happened because I was a stupid little girl. And for none of it did I ever ask anyone for forgiveness."

"But tell me, Ron, about your insinuations. How was he supposed to do that? You admit you didn't know where the chamber was until he found that scrap of parchment in Hermione's statue hand and he put all the clues together. A scrap of paper you admitted to me she had just gotten from the Headmaster earlier that day." She shook her head.

"I didn't even help him tend to his injuries when I was the cause of them. I knew why Denis was beating him up. Colin even tried to get me to tell Denis the truth because he didn't like Denis beating on Harry for something he wasn't responsible for. I wouldn't." Ron looked surprised. As far as he knew Colin hadn't known exactly how he died. The Headmaster had told them all he remembered was seeing big yellow eyes. Ginny smiled bitterly. "Yes, he knows exactly how he died. He remembers following me into that hallway and hearing me in the girls bathroom doing something. He waited for me in the hallway to come out of the bathroom. I knew he was there waiting for me but I gave him no warning, Ron. I didn't even try to tell him to go away. Because I thought he was a pest and no one would miss him. It'd make Tom happy to finally have a victim. So I said nothing to warn Colin away. I released the snake and then opened the bathroom door to let it into the school knowing damn well an innocent boy was in the hallway waiting for me to come out. The last thing Colin remembers is me opening the bathroom door and seeing the eyes. So yes, he knows damn well I was responsible for his death."

Ron closed his eyes and lowered his head. He didn't like thinking of his sister as a murderer and had been trying very hard ever since Colin had died and he'd discovered she had been releasing the monster into the school to deny it. Yet she'd just sat here and told him point blank she'd deliberately set Colin up to die.

"As for Harry, tell me Ron. Why should he have forgiven me when I never showed any remorse? You know, forgiveness given without being asked or being shown remorse is worthless and only makes a fool out of the one doing the forgiving. Because the one being forgiven learns nothing of value and will do their bad act again and again. Until the day when they try it on someone who will take something from them they can't afford to lose for their audacity. Like their life."

"Colin did nothing wrong. I did. Harry did nothing wrong. I did. Yet, I let both of them pay for my wrongdoing which only compounded my error. I never asked for forgiveness or showed any remorse to either Colin or Harry for what I'd done. Neither were required to forgive me just because you and the Headmaster wanted them to. Or told them to. They didn't owe me their forgiveness, Ron."

"But the Headmaster says if you don't forgive people when they do wrong against you it only eats you up from the inside," Ron said. "So we should forgive people who wrong us whether they ask for it or not."

"Yeah, he does but that doesn't make him right, Ron. It just means that's what he believes. But if you keep running around forgiving people for things they do wrong against you without ever them asking for it, how do they ever learn what you're considering wrong? Take Hermione for example. How many times has she offended you with her I'm always right and you're always wrong attitude? How many times have you forgiven her for being a bossy know it all and demanding you do things her way when you knew the way you wanted to do things was the better way?"

Ron grimaced. "Lots," he answered.

"Yet did she ever stop doing it? Did she ever even pause to consider trying things you're way?" Ron shook his head. "That's what I mean. You forgave her each time she demanded you do things her way when your way would have been better, more effective. But you never told her what she was being forgiven for so she never knew she'd done wrong by you simply by not listening to you. So she kept repeating the mistake. That's a whole lot simpler than the mistakes I made with Harry and Colin. But it's the same concept. Forgiveness needs to be asked for if it's to have any true meaning. Harry understands this. The Headmaster doesn't."

"So you aren't mad at Harry because you never asked him to forgive you for opening the chamber? Still Gin, that didn't mean he had to mark up your face like he did. Seems to me you paid a pretty unfair price for not asking him to forgive you over that mistake.

Ginny sighed and shook her head. "The mark wasn't for the Chamber Ron. It was for everything we've done wrong to and against him."

"Huh?" Ron asked confused.

"Because he was right, Ronald. We took his money. We lied about him and to him. We cheated him and on him. We demanded he obey us and kowtow to us in everything no matter how right or wrong it was. We cut him off from any friends outside of ourselves doing our level best to ensure he would never have anyone other than us to turn to. Because we were using him for our benefit and outsiders would have told him we were. We acted like he was taking pay from us when reality was he was the one paying us."

"Still he didn't have to brand us. On our faces," Ron groused sticking his bottom lip out and crossing his arms on the tabletop.

Ginny shook her head. "I count myself lucky this rune is all he did to me. It helps that I know it'll go away one day. He could have done much worse to me than this."

Anger lit up Ron's eyes. "I'd have killed him if he'd tried," he growled.

"And you'd probably be dead if you tried," Ginny said bluntly. "Because I did accept coin to be his potential girl and then, even knowing that, I went and hooked up with other boys whom I found more attractive and better suited to me personally. At the same time, I continued to take his coin to be his potential girl. And chased off any girl I caught looking in his direction. Because I saw him as mine. My property. Something I owned that I could use or not use as I chose. But it was the other way around, Ron. I belonged to him. He didn't belong to me. And no. Not because I owe him a life debt. Because I took his coin to be his girl on standby. That made me his property to do with, and to, however he felt justified in doing."

"I never had the right to date other boys, Ron. Not from the second Dumbledore approached Mum and Dad and offered to pay me to be Harry's potential girl. Well, from the moment the offer was accepted anyway. And Ron, there was nothing respectable or honorable in that offer. I know we all thought it was at the time. But it wasn't because there was no contract for me attached to the offer."

"Huh? Mum and Dad think it was."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "No, Ron. It wasn't. If it had been an honorable or respectable offer, I'd have a betrothal contract with Harry. I don't because Dumbledore never had the authority to offer me one. He isn't Harry's legal guardian, Ron. And that opens a whole lot of can of worms between our family and Harry."

"Wait! You said you had to ask his permission to date someone because you were taking his coin. And I was taking it also. So I can't date anyone until I ask him first? Because I was taking his money to do things Dumbledore told me to do?"

"No Blockhead! You can date anyone you want so long as they'll have you. You were paid for a different reason than I was. I was paid to be his _potential_ girl. That means I was on standby as a future girlfriend when he was ready to be seen with a girl. Maybe if I hadn't played him fast and loose, it would have turned into a marriage one day. But somehow I doubt that because _I was paid_. Guys of his future station can't be married to girls who took money to date them _unless there is a betrothal contract stating how much money she'll be given during the courtship under it's terms_. I had no such contract. So it was highly unlikely it ever would have gone as far as marriage."

"That's the difference in our world between what guys are allowed to do and what girls can do. The second I accepted the payment to be his potential girl, I was honor bound to refuse all other offers until my patron set me free of my obligation to him. If I had done so, I could have kept my honor intact. At that point, even if I wasn't a virgin any more, I still would've been able to make a respectable marriage connection for myself with the coin I had earned from him as my dowry. And chances are good I'd have found a decent guy to spend my life with because everyone knows the Weasely family is poor and barely scraps by with all our members. But I didn't. I played him for a fool instead."

"Yes, I could've asked him if I could date another boy while he didn't wish to have me on his arm. And he might even have said yes after setting down some rules for me so I wouldn't impinge on his honor while doing so. Considering he'd said repeatedly I didn't interest him at all, he'd have probably jumped at the chance to have me fall for some other guy. But even while I was dating those other boys, I was still taking his coin, Ron. And that's what makes me dating them so very wrong. I should have stopped taking his money when I decided I didn't want to be his girl on standby any longer. I didn't."

"No matter how you slice it, that's wrong. I knew and I didn't care because I thought he didn't know. And what he didn't know wouldn't hurt me. Yet when Neville asked me to go to the Ball with him I went straight to Harry and got his permission first. I had already gone on more than a few dates with Michael at that time without asking Harry. But for Neville, I asked first. What does that tell you Ron? It tells me I knew I had to ask before being seen in public on another guys arm. Yet I never asked him if I could date Michael. Either before the Ball or after."

Ron frowned. "Wait if you were dating Michael before the Ball, why'd you want to go with Nev?"

"Michael and I had gotten into a fight about Harry and whether or not he knew I was supposed to be his girl. I said Harry didn't know and Michael claimed he did. he was certain Harry knew and I wouldn't believe him because even then I knew what I was doing was wrong. So we broke up.

"Neville's almost as rich as Harry and I don't know. I guess I was thinking if there was a chance I couldn't get Harry as my future husband, Neville wasn't a bad second choice, you know? So when he asked, I wanted to accept. It got my foot in the door. Got him to see me as a potential future bride. But I had to do things right with Neville because he wasn't like Michael. Neville's just as highborn as Harry is. He has a station in this world he'll assume as soon as he turns seventeen just as Harry does and will. Michael doesn't. So I went to Harry first for permission to be seen in public on Neville's arm."

"After the Ball, Neville made it clear he didn't want to date me. That he'd only taken me to the Ball because Harry thought I wanted to go and he wouldn't be seen in such a setting with me on his arm. It'd give people the wrong impression. Neville said he knew I was taking money to be Harry's girl and he wouldn't poach on another guys territory. That I would never do as his girl any more than I did as Harry's. Because I was for hire."

"So when Michael came around a few days later wanting to make up, I said yes. It seems the whole Ball thing and the rumors about it told Michael Harry did know I was supposed to be his girl and Michael wanted to date me again. But that entire incident told Harry I knew the rules, Ron. You know it did."

Ron nodded glumly. Her asking if she could go with Nev to the Ball would've told Harry she knew she was to ask him before going anywhere with another bloke. He also knew Harry knew about Michael because he'd been the one to tell him. He was gloating because Harry had lost Ginny to another for being too thick to see what a great girl she was. Hermione had been furious with him for that. Absolutely livid.

Ginny continued explaining to her brother. "In any case, it doesn't matter now. Everyone and his brother -and sister- knows Harry will never marry me. Nor will any other respectable boy we know. Because I'm not a suitable future wife for them. My involvement with you, Hermione and the Headmaster in destroying Harry's name and reputation here at school has told them that. My dating boys I didn't first get permission to be with only confirmed what they already knew. I'm a girl raised in this world that still believes in betrothal agreements and marriage contracts. I knew the rules and I broke them of my own free will. Now I have to pay the price for my own choices."

Ron grimaced but nodded his head. But Ginny was still speaking. "We really shouldn't have under-estimated Harry's intelligence that way. Nor should we have assumed that just because he didn't say anything, he didn't know what we were doing behind his back. How many times has he shown us just how very observant he is? It's always him who puts all the little random clues together, Ron. Every year, we know what's going on in this school and we deliberately feed it to him piecemeal. Only giving him information when it seems he's giving up or uninterested in whatever challenge the Headmaster had us set up for him. Yet he puts all those little bits of information together and shows up at the right place at the right time to do what needs to be done. Yet we underestimated him in regards to our own bad behavior. And considering how you and Hermione acted any time he said anything even slightly hurtful or negative to or about me, it really isn't that much of a surprise he didn't call me on my bad behavior towards him as anyone else, including you, would've."

"As for why I'm not mad at him anymore. . well that's simply because, as Colin's ghost pointed out to me, he didn't offer me the payment. The Headmaster did. And Mum and Da approved it. As Colin said, Harry had nothing to do with it. None of us asked him if he was ok with us getting paid to be near him and not one of us considered how he feel about it when he found out. Because he was always going to find out one day. Did you really think he'd just laugh it off when he did? You know him better than that. Or at least you should."

Ron squirmed in his chosen seat. When this all began Dumbledore had told him he'd explain things to Harry before he found out about the payments. Then when he'd gotten to know Harry he'd been worried about how he'd react when he learned he was being paid to be around him. Again the Headmaster had told him not to worry. Harry'd understand. Over time, he'd just allowed himself to believe the Headmaster and not worry about it. But Ginny was right. Harry was always going to find out. And he was always going to be angry when he did. There was always going to be a price to be paid at that time. because Harry wasn't anywhere near as stupid or gullible as the Headmaster claimed he was.

Ginny's voice broke into his thoughts again. "But Dumbledore knew, Ronald. From you at least, he knew exactly how Harry would feel and he didn't care. How many times did you tell him how Harry feels about liars? About betrayers? About people taking credit for things they don't do? About people saying one thing while doing another? About gossipers and people who go around enticing others to share their secrets just so they can go tell everybody else?" Ron grimaced and she nodded. "and we did all of that to Harry. So really. Did you honestly think Harry would just let it go because the Headmaster said he would?"

"But Dumbledore, now. He knew how Harry would see us. He knew but he didn't care. Not about us or our feelings. Not about our family and what this would do to them when it came out. Because those girls in the halls were right Ron. Our family could be ruined when thios comes out to the public. The Bank will fire Bioll without a second thought. Percy and Dad will be booted out of the Ministry so fast they'll be lucky if they have time to clear out their desks. And Charlie will be let go from the Dragon Reserve as soon as the donations drop drastically enough. And none of them will find it easy to get other honorable placements. For that matter the twins will suffer as well. They want to open their own shop, Ron. Tell me. Where will they get the backing for that? Who will agree to rent them space to set up shop in? Who will buy their wares? But Dumbledore didn't care because he saw a use for us." She wagged a finger between the two of them.

"What's worse, I'm certain Dumbledore counted on Harry striking out against us personally and he didn't care to warn any of us when he made us his offer. He may not have predicted this," she indicated her marked countenance, "but he knew Harry would do something to us in retribution for how we used him to our own benefit. And he didn't care." Almost whispering she added, "Just as he didn't care if Harry couldn't rescue me from the Chamber." Ron squawked. She snorted and raised her eyes to his face. "He called Mum and Dad here and told them to gather you boys and take you home. He told them to mourn my passing because there was no way he could get to me to save me if I was even still alive. He never even intended to try, Ron. he knew you were taking Harry to find me and rescue me but he didn't think Harry could do it. And He Didn't CARE!" Her voice had risen at the end but Ron couldn't blame her.

Ron was stunned speechless. Ginny really had thought about this and she'd drawn a lot of conclusions that he'd seen but hadn't thought about because he was too busy being angry and listening to Hermione blame Harry for their misfortune. But maybe she was right. Maybe this really was the Headmaster's fault more than it was anyone's. "So you think we should be angry with the Headmaster then?

Ginny sighed and shook her head to dismiss her dark thoughts. "Yes, to an extent. Because he did set all this up and he kept telling us not to worry every time one of us came to him fretting about it all. I mean, he didn't make us take the money, Ron. We chose to take it. That's our fault. But we never would have if he hadn't offered it to us. And that is his blame to shoulder."

"Once we learned what kind of boy Harry was, we could've stopped taking it, owned up to it and then worked to make things right with Harry. We had an honorable out there, Ron. We didn't take it. We could've even asked Harry to add funding as general spending to our scholarship to cover what the Headmaster was paying us. But we didn't. We kept quiet and continued taking his money behind his back. We kept taking our paydays. Because we were greedy. None of us even considered not doing so. That isn't the Headmaster's fault. It's ours."

Ron looked puzzled and Ginny knew it was the scholarships they were on. Likely as not, the blockhead hadn't figured out Harry was the source of those because no one had told him in simple to understand words yet. But she wasn't ready for that topic yet. She'd get to it but not until she explained why she was angry with their parents first.

"Mum and Dad first, Ron. Then I'll explain the scholarships. Ok?" He nodded and she went on. "I'm angry with Mum and Dad because they're the adults responsible for us. It's their place to watch out for us and keep us from making major missteps like this. But Mum jumped on it and immediately started planning my wedding to Harry. She never actually looked closely at what he was offering. Dad didn't either. For that, I'm angry with them. Because it was their duty to see through what he offered us."

"I've researched the matter and I know we got off lightly. Especially Hermione and I since we owe him a life debt. He could've called it in at any time. He didn't and I don't think he ever will. He doesn't save lives to gather favors from the victims he saves. That's something the Headmaster would do. Not Harry." Ron looked as if he would deny her words. She knew he didn't like the thought of either girl owing a life debt to Harry. Or anyone really.

"We do owe him, Ron. Both Hermione and I had our lives saved by him at great personal risk to himself. You may have been with him when he saved her from that troll, Ron. But you know as well as I do, not only were you the reason she was there and at risk, but he was the reason you went to her rescue. Her life debt to him was confirmed when he saved me in the chamber while she was a stone statue in the infirmary. The two different acts combined into a single life debt because in both instances his life was in peril equal to or greater than her own. In the first, it was your action in levitating the club that felled the danger and in the second she was petrified when he wasn't present. But while you stayed safely at the bathroom door and behind a wall of fallen rocks, Harry was up front and in the face of the monster that threatened both Hermione and I. That's why the two acts combined into a single debt instead of a double. Understand?" Ron grimaced again but gave a slow nod showing he was at least thinking about it now.

"So maybe instead of being angry with him you should consider thanking him. He saved my life when Merlin knows he didn't have to. When everyone else, including that Headmaster you so respect, had written me off as dead."

She paused and tipped her head to one side. "You do know could have sent you straight to Azkaban since you very clearly did try to kill him with that Chamber of Secrets mess, don't you? At the very least, you could have crippled him for life by hitting him on the spine with that chunk of porcelain sink you used. People have been permanently crippled by a blow to the back before. And if the monster had been waiting at the bottom of the pipe, he could have died. No, he would've died. You would've killed him." Ron was wearing his bullhead expression so she continued on the topic. No matter what she had to get it through his head how very easily his action that day had nearly cost Harry his life. It was the reason for the rune on his forehead and Ron needed to admit it.

"Even if it wasn't, Ron he still could have died by your hand. If he came out of that pipe wrong and landed on his head he could have snapped his neck or crushed his skull. In either case, he would have died. Because Madam Pomfrey wasn't there to fix his injury. Nor could you have gotten him to her in time for her to save him. You would have killed him because people don't live through crushed skulls or snapped necks, Ron. Do you understand now?"

Ron had paled as she explained what his hotheaded snap decision could have resulted in for him. At the time he'd been angry and scared. Harry wanted to go get Snape because Snape knew a lot of spells and could probably save Ginny faster and more easily than they could without him. But Ron didn't trust Snape and Dumbledore had said to take Lockhart. And Ron was worried Ginny would die before they reached her. So when Harry opened the pipe, he picked up a broken piece of the sink and smacked him with it to knock him off balance. Harry fell into the pipe and the rest was history. He'd never thought about what could have happened. Because it didn't happen. Harry had been fine. Softly, Ginny said, "I saw the bruise you left on his back, Ron. It was very near his neck and very large. You came very close to killing him. Closer than I think you actually knew. Or would admit to since that rune on your forehead clearly says you did know." Ron gulped and squirmed some more.

"Instead, even though you'll wear that rune for the rest of your days, you're here. At Hogwarts. Getting the chance to finish your education. And when you're finished here, you'll get the chance to live your life as a free man. I'd say that's reason enough to thank him. To be grateful all you got was a rune on your forehead. Yet all I've heard from you is grumbling about how unfair it is you got branded."

"He was right, you know. In the Library. He said you've always been jealous of him for the scar on his forehead. Always felt it gives him an unfair advantage over you. Because people see it and instantly know who he is. Well, now you have your own mark. And people will see it and instantly know who you are, too. You no longer need to be jealous of his scar, Ron. Now you have your own claim to fame. What will you make of it, I wonder?" Ron sat there blinking as he considered this fresh point of view.

She spoke up again as she twiddled her quill between her fingers. "Also, kindly remember he's still our patron since our scholarships haven't been revoked. So get your grades up. Besides which you do realize you'll need decent grades on your Owls and Newts now that we can't rely on having access to Harry's vaults to pay our way through life, don't you?"

Ron snorted, ignoring what she said about having to work for his dinner when he graduated. On the one hand he knew he'd need to get a job when he finished school. But on the other hand that was still years away and he really didn't have anything he'd prefer to do with himself. A career counselor at a muggle school would've said he lacked direction. They'd have had him filling out different questionaires and taking tests to find a possible direction for himself. But Hogwarts didn't offer that for her students. Instead, he responded to the bit about their scholarships and being under Harry's patronage through them. "That's not his choice. Dumbledore says it's his decision who gets a scholarship and who doesn't."

"Bull," Ginny said bluntly. "In the first place, Dumbledore is only the Headmaster here Ron. This school is run by the School Board. Not the Headmaster. They are the ones that approve scholarship students. Not him. Yes he set them up but it's Harry's coin backing them, Ronald. Harry can pull the funding any time he wishes. No funding means no scholarship to offer. And that means it's not the Headmaster's choice at all. It's not even the School Board's. It's Harry's. And only Harry's."

"Also, you might want to consider the fact that there more than likely is _no_ contract with Harry's signature backing our current scholarship since Dumbledore has made it very clear he doesn't want Harry to have any idea how rich he truly is. Just like there was no betrothal contract between Harry and I to legalize my taking his coin all this time."

Ron frowned. "You keep mentioning that. But Dumbledore is Harry's magical guardian. He says it all the time. So he has to have all the proper documents and stuff backing up what he uses Harry's vaults for."

Ginny snorted and shook her head. "I was told by Professor Babbling, at the end of September when I went to her to find out what my rune said about me, the Headmaster likes to claim he's Harry's magical guardian but that he's no such thing legally. She told me he didn't offer Mum and Dad a betrothal contract for me and Harry because legally he can't. Only a guardian or a parent can make a contract between two minors, Ron. And Dumbledore isn't Harry's legal guardian in any capacity."

Ron was staring at her with his mouth hanging open. "Who is then? He has to have a real guardian, Ginny. Every kid in this society has a guardian. If not Dumbledore, then who?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've heard rumors that suggest Snape is. But those are only rumors. Some kids say they heard the teachers calling Snape Harry's Guardian/Protector when Black was on the loose. But we know Black was his Godfather and Black said he was supposed to be his guardian if something happened to Lily and James. So I'm not actually sure. In any case, what matters to us is Dumbledore isn't."

"That means those scholarships, if they even exist, are illegal. Dad said the scholarships are made up of interest money earned on an existing account. Though he didn't say whose account was earning the interest, we can assume the accounts are Harry's. Because Dumbledore offered them and it's Harry's accounts he's been playing with all these years. That makes our scholarships funded by stolen money. Stolen money, Ronald, as not even magical guardians have the right to spend their wards inheritances like that. So get your grades up while we still have the right to be students here."

Mumbling to herself she added, "And since we're the only two kids here on a scholarship at all, tells me Dumbledore always planned to use us for his games. He never cared about us or our family. Nor did he care about our future or he'd have been getting on our case about our grades and not blowing away the opportunity those scholarship give us." Ron heard her even though she hadn't intended for him to. He sat there blinking and trying to absorb everything she'd said.

She went back to her homework leaving Ron pondering whether or not she could be correct. Idly, she pushed her copy of the pamphlet towards him saying, "And Harry didn't curse us, Ron. He called on Magic to judge us. That's different."

"But Mione said. . .

Ginny snapped. "I don't care what that girl said, Ronald. Hermione only told you he did because she didn't want to face what her rune said about her character. Because her rune names her a betraying thief, a cheater and a bad friend. Which, by the way, says Harry knew what she was doing with his homework assignments even if he never called her on it. She couldn't find a counter to the runes any more than she could find the actual spell he invoked. So she decided it was dark magic and that made it a curse. Because that's what the Headmaster told her."

"Yeah that sounds like Mione. So sure only she can actually know something." Ron scowled. He fingered the booklet she'd tossed in front of him. "So McG was telling us the truth then?" he asked. Ron sat there staring at the booklet, indecision clear in his face for anyone with eyes to see.

Ginny nodded. "Read it, Ron. Read it and understand it this time. Hermione isn't here to go ballistic on you for reading it anymore. She won't accuse you of betraying her by not having her back or trusting in her intelligence. Read it and make your own decision. Maybe then you'll understand why I am not angry with Harry any more."

Ron sighed and picked up the thin booklet. "Still doesn't change the fact he ruined our lives," he muttered unwilling to completely let go of his anger just yet.

She slammed down her hand and snarled. "Yes it does, Ronald Weasely. He didn't force us to take his coin to hang around him. He didn't know he even had the coin to offer. He didn't make us choose more coin in our pocket over the debts we owed him. He didn't make us tell lies about him to our peers. He didn't make us put the school at risk each and every year just so the Headmaster could force him into a dangerous situation to save everyone. He didn't even make us get him kicked out of the tower or off the team. We made those choices. We did, Ron. You, me and Hermione. Not him."

"As for my life being ruined, it was ruined the second I took payment to spread my legs for him while parading around as his so-called future girlfriend. That made me a kept woman and as such, a respectable marriage was out of the question, you fool," she hissed at him.

"I was his bought and paid for whore because that's what Mum and Dad agreed I would be. And I cheated on him. With two different guys. I let both of them take me into Hogsmeade and buy me things. Places I knew Harry wouldn't be able to take me because Dumbledore doesn't let him off the grounds of the Castle. And things I knew he wouldn't be able to get me even if he wanted to. People saw me on the arm of those boys, Ron. People who knew I considered myself Harry's girl. What do you think they thought of him when they were seeing me hugging and snogging Michael or Dean?"

Ron paled not sure if he was more upset by the words she was using or the way she was badmouthing the three adults he respected the most. He gulped and decided to leave her alone because clearly she was angry now and her language would only degenerate more if he continued to try talking with her about the matter. he did grab the booklet before he rushed off and up to his dorm room where he had homework waiting to be done.

He still thought she should be mad at Harry for disfiguring her because after all, no one knew she had been paid to be available to him so there really wasn't any dishonor involved in taking the money Dumbledore had offered her. He totally ignored the fact that the entire school knew.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. A lot of this chapter was repetitious and I know we're all getting tired of it. But Ron is dense and Ginny's offense against Harry was different from Hermione and Ron's. We dealt with Hermione's offense a couple of chapters back but this was the first time I fully delved into exactly what Ginny had done wrong. As for Ron, well, you can't just say something once to him and expect him to get it. He needs told in multiple ways and by multiple people before he even begins to realize someone's trying to tell him something and it just might be important for him to understand. So Ginny went over a lot of stuff we already know but I tried to have her go over it from a different point of view to make it more interesting.** **Hope it didn't bore you too much.**


	35. Hermione Resolved

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Thirty-Five: Hermione Resolved

November slowly turned into December. With Severus' help, Harry had approached both Lady Longbottom and Lady Malfoy during a Hogsmeade weekend when no one was likely to notice he wasn't seen in the Castle. They'd had to sneak Harry off the grounds but Mr. Filch was more than willing to help them since Harry had never been allowed to leave as all the other students were. Severus had apparated Harry straight to the Longbottom Estates where Narcissa and Augusta were waiting for them both. He helped him present his ideas for the future of Hogwarts with them leading the school in place of Albus, as Headmaster, and Professor McGonagal, as Deputy Headmistress. Both women had listened to his proposal and asked for background information as to what had prompted this change which Severus had promptly given them. Together they walked the women through everything they had discovered about Albus' tenure as Headmaster of Hogwarts. Most especially what he'd done since Harry had arrived at age eleven.

Severus had also spoken to the Dark Lord, who'd been looking ill and acting distracted, on the matter to get him to agree to the idea. Severus knew the Dark Lord would put pressure on Lucius to get the School Board to dismiss Albus in favor of the two women as he believed he controlled Narcissa through her husband and son. That, he believed, would give the Dark Lord control over Hogwarts which was why Narcissa would be the Deputy while Augusta would be Headmistress. Not that he told the Dark Lord that, of course. The Dark Lord believed Lucius would place Narcissa as the Headmistress while Augusta served as her second. And that suited Harry and Severus just fine.

Ever since October first, Albus found himself running to the bank twice a month now to try and get more funds from Harry's vaults as without the usual amount flowing in from Harry's accounts he was running low in his back-up stash. This most recent run was his third in the month of November but it couldn't be helped. He'd no idea what beans Ms. Granger would spill and there was no way he was going down with her just because she was a stupid little chit of a girl who couldn't keep her mouth shut.

It'd also make his first of December meeting more difficult because the goblins were unlikely to give him even as much coin as they usually did. Which was really irritating him and he had half a mind just to get Harry to write his will leaving everything to himself and then killing the boy off. Just to end these damn trips. But he knew the will would be challenged right now simply because the Brat was due to inherit the Black vaults and Young Malfoy was in line for those. So Lucius would definitely challenge a will that left them to someone else. He was unaware Draco Malfoy was also in line to inherit the Potter Estate since he and Harry were third cousins through James Potter and Narcissa Malfoy. So Lucius would challenge Albus' claim on those vaults also in Draco's name.

He'd tried everything he could think of including getting dominion over the Black vaults since he knew there was absolutely no way Harry knew about them. But Stoneaxe, the goblin he believed he was working with now, told him a board of trustees had been set up to oversee those accounts until the heir to them came of age. So there was no way he'd be getting any funds from them before Harry knew he had inherited them. He was still being led around by the nose by ToeScrape but because Albus couldn't tell one goblin from another he didn't know his demand to deal with a different goblin had been ignored.

Because of the freeze on the vaults, he had to go in person twice each month to lobby for the pitifully small amount the goblins would now let him have. And since the goblins were notorious hagglers he had to have all his arguments just right to even get that much out of them. Any mistake he made resulted in less coins for him and that meant making another reduction in his lifestyle as he couldn't afford not to pay his minions for their aid. And not paying them was NOT an option. Some of those minions were damned dangerous fellows. But since he honestly didn't believe Harry knew about his vaults, he couldn't blame the boy for his misfortune. Unfortunately. He really wanted to know who this Lady Tonguelash was. She was the reason he was having such a hard time getting to his money and he didn't appreciate it. At all. He needed to find her and make her pay for her interference.

He'd also had to spend a lot of time getting Ms. Granger squared away since she knew far too much to do otherwise. Luckily, he had managed to reach the Ministry with some funds before the stupid girl had spilled too much information. All she'd really revealed when he had gotten there was that she was sent down from Hogwarts for cheating and that Harry had marked her face. Upon seeing him enter the room, she'd immediately relaxed and shut her mouth.

Her confidence in him was reassuring but misplaced since he had no intention of getting her out of the trouble her mouth had landed her in. For one thing, he hadn't told her to cheat and claim dear Harry's work as her own. He hadn't even told her to rewrite dear Harry's assignments for him. Make the effort to lower his grades through offering suggestions and corrections, yes. But not rewrite them entirely.

So the trouble she was in, was trouble of her own making. He would, however, make sure she didn't become a larger problem for him in the future. One of his more suitable minions would handle her for him and make certain she could never tell anyone anything he didn't want anyone knowing. Because of course he couldn't do a memory charm in the Ministry itself any more than he'd been able to do one in his office at Hogwarts. Someone would realize she was under one and that would raise even more questions. Questions he didn't want to answer. Questions like what did she know that he didn't want them knowing. Because, of course, someone would realize he had performed it on her. He did have a lot of enemies here at the Ministry. You couldn't be a powerful political figure without having enemies.

Her parents hadn't been happy when they found out he had paid her from her very first year onward to exchange homework with another student to dummy down that student's work. For one, they caught on far quicker than Ms. Granger had that Harry was smarter than their daughter was since she was exchanging her own homework for his and receiving higher marks than he received. For two, they didn't like the implication that they couldn't afford to pay for their daughter's educational needs without said education being subsidized through an after school work study program.

Nor had they been happy to see her face was now scarred. Her father especially. They had demanded he tell them how she had gotten hurt and why he didn't have his school nurse just magic it away like he did any other injuries the students got. He honestly didn't understand how she came to be marked either as he hadn't yet had time to look into the matter so he had asked Kingsley to call in Minerva to explain it as Ms. Granger refused to do so without breaking down coughing for air.

Minerva had answered the call but unfortunately for him, she didn't come either alone or empty-handed. So he couldn't work on her to get her back under his thumb in regards to how he wanted her to see and treat his favorite puppet. Not for the first time he felt like cursing both her and Severus, who had come with her. Both teachers had proven to be a severe disappointment to him so far this term. He just didn't understand why they weren't following his program anymore.

Severus, upon seeing Ms. Granger's red face and gasping for air, smoothly said, "Lying again, Ms. Granger. Defaming your patron again, are you?" It hadn't even been a question. He had stated it as fact and none of the adults in the room had missed the point.

"Patron?" asked Daniel Granger. "What is this Patron and why does she have one? Where did this person come from and why weren't we asked about it before he/she became our daughter's patron? And if she has a Patron why is that person not here with her now?"

Severus raised a brow and replied, "Harry Potter is her patron and she has one because she chose to take the money Albus offered her from his vaults for doing things Albus asked her to do. Mr. Potter saved your daughter's life twice in her first two years of school and she repaid him by stealing from him and defaming his character behind his back. He isn't here because he had nothing to do with why she's here. Nor does he have any control over what will happen with her from here on out. As to why you weren't asked about him becoming her patron, you'd need to ask her and the Headmaster as I have no idea."

"That's quite enough Severus," said Albus gravely. "What's done is done and can't be undone. Right now, we need to figure out where we go from here and get things in order so Ms. Granger's life isn't ruined because Harry had a temper tantrum."

Murmuring just loud enough for Minerva and the Granger adults to hear Severus replied, "She isn't here because Mr. Potter threw a wobbly at all. She's here because she did and revealed things she shouldn't have."

Minerva rolled her eyes and pulled the Granger parents aside to explain the mark to them before handing over the booklet she'd brought for them. When they asked why the school nurse hadn't removed it like she did broken bones and things, Minerva had told them bluntly, "This is a magical punishment rune. It can't be removed by anyone but the one who's magic holds it in place. That's your daughter. Ms. Granger must own up to her bad acts that caused her magic to place it there. Then she must atone for them with a sincere heart. Until she does so, there's no magic on this earth that can remove it. It won't hurt her unless she tries to lie about how she came to get it or about the person who called for judgement upon her. If she tries to hurt him in any manner, the rune will punish her. Plain and simple. Nor is it in any manner life threatening. In short, it is a behavior modification rune. There are rules that go along with the rune of course. In the back of the book, I've written what the rune will punish her for as well as how you can tell when she is crossing the line."

Severus inserted himself into the conversation, "Think of it as the magical equivalent of your muggle juvenile justice system. When underaged people in your community break the law they are sent to court for their offense. They undergo a trial just as if they were an adult but the sentence they are given is lighter than an adult would receive. Correct?" Her mother nodded but her father was glowering with too much anger to bother. "We don't have that option because we only have one prison. Azkaban. You do not want your daughter there but if this had come out in the normal fashion that's exactly where she could've ended up. Because she _knowingly_ stole from her patron. Not only was she stealing his completed homework, and signing her own name to it, but she was stealing his money to buy herself books and trinkets. This is in addition to the defamation of character he suffered at her hands. And all of that is just as illegal in your society as it is in ours and could've landed her in much worse trouble than merely being expelled from Hogwarts with a rune, that will fade away in time, on her face."

"And the person who did this to her? Is he being punished as well?" asked her father, his anger a nearly visible aura around him.

"No," answered Severus bluntly. "To be quite frank with you Dr. Granger, this only happened because no one was willing to step in and stop your daughter from doing what she was doing. No one was willing to see how she was doing wrong to Mr. Potter because your daughter has been steadily lying to us and pinning her own bad acts on him. We all believed he was the bad seed in the school and wouldn't have given him the time of day had he tried to tell us otherwise. Consequently, she never received the punishment she should've when she knowingly broke the rules."

"But let's be very clear here. What she was doing was not only breaking school rules but the laws of the land. Did you know your daughter set me afire back in her first year in a crowded stadium? She could have killed me if the flames had gotten out of control.

"They were bluebell flames? Those can't burn flesh, Professor. So stop lying," Hermione shouted.

"On the contrary, Ms. Granger. The grease I place in my hair is a special formula I developed to prevent serious injury to myself in the school lab. My robes are also specially treated for all different mixtures I may come into contact with during the course of a day. A lab where children age eleven to seventeen brew all sorts of dangerous concoctions isn't exactly the safest place on the earth you know. Who knows what kind of new disaster you children will brew up in your cauldrons? But it's my duty to see that you live through whatever you dream up to brew." Mrs Dr Granger snickered.

"My point here is; normally bluebell flames are quite safe to use around people but they aren't safe to be used around me because of the treatment I use on my robes and hair. You, I realize, didn't know that but the fact remains you could have killed me that day from the chemicals changing the nature of the flames. If that had happened you would have lost control of your fire and I and several other people around me would have died or been seriously injured."

Hermione glared at him mulishly. "You shouldn't have been cursing Harry's broom. You were trying to kill him. That justified me doing whatever I could to stop you," she snapped defiantly.

Minerva had heard enough and snapped, "Again you lie, Ms. Granger."

"I'm not lying. He was cursing Harry's broom in that game. As soon as my flames distracted him, Harry regained control over his broom and was able to win the game for us. So that proves he was trying to kill Harry."

Minerva calmly said, "You are lying because if Severus had been cursing that broom, he'd be dead for having broken his oath."

Hermione blinked. In a small voice she questioned, "What oath?"

Severus spared a glare for Minerva but turned to answer the question. "When Mr. Potter was due to come to Hogwarts the Ministry felt he needed an adult watching out for him and guarding his back. I was the person they chose."

To her parents he explained, "Mr. Potter is very well known and he has a lot of enemies due to what happened when he was a mere babe. Since he grew up in your society, the Ministry felt he wouldn't know friend from foe so they chose to appoint him a Guardian Protector when he is in this world. I am that person. It is my job to watch his back and keep him alive. If I fail in this duty when I know he is in danger, such as when someone was jinxing the broom he was flying on, I will die."

He turned back to Hermione and said, "Therefore, Ms. Granger, I was not in fact cursing his broom. I was muttering the counter curse trying to break the stream of magic making his broom go out of control. So in an effort to repay your life debt to him, you nearly killed him. Congratulations."

"It still stopped," Hermione muttered wriggling on the hard seated chair she was sitting on.

Mrs Granger was frowning at Hermione. "Hermione, is there something you need to tell the Professor?" she asked. Hermione turned her nose up and her head away refusing to acknowledge either her Mother or the Professor.

To her parents, Severus explained, "As you well know, if she'd have done this in your world not only would she have been immediately expelled but she'd be facing a judge for her actions. Most likely she'd be on her way to a juvenile detention facility. In our world, it'd be Azkaban only if the courts decided to let her live at all. Because with her blood status and age working against her, they might just decide she isn't worth saving. It's unfortunate but it is reality in this society."

"Mr. Potter did this because he had the right to do it and she needed to be stopped before it was too late and her actions caused the death of someone else. Right now, all her actions were directed against him and his well-being. Well, except for when she targeted me. But she is quite young and who's to say who she'll target next time? That person may not have Mr. Potter's uncanny luck at getting out of bad situations. Or mine."

Minerva nodded with a small smile. She went on to say, "Being expelled from Hogwarts' isn't a criminal offense in our society but I feel compelled to warn you that if you should choose to fight her expulsion, everything else she's done will be brought out of the shadows. People won't be happy with her and they will demand she be punished. Mainly because Mr. Potter is so very popular with the people. More than what Mr. Potter did when he called for Magic's Judgement on her. And much of what she has done while in Hogwarts actually is against our laws. If it all comes out of the shadows our court system will, as your people say, throw the book at her. We're giving you a chance to take your daughter and, quite frankly, go away."

The Doctor Grangers weren't happy. But what could they do? Hermione was their daughter. Their only child. And she'd just been expelled from school for cheating. Something they'd never thought she'd do. But apparently something she'd been doing for at least the past four years.

She was also accused of extortion, which they knew was just as illegal in their world as it appeared to be in the magical world. Then there was the accusations of attempted assassination of her Professor. Which was only 'attempted' because her victim had survived the attempt.

And that wasn't even mentioning the character assassination she'd been engaging in which, while not actually illegal, was certainly wrong of her. Or if it was, was only a misdemeanor charge.

Clearly they'd been asleep at the wheel when it came to the raising of Hermione these last several years. She'd broken quite a few of their rules as well as school rules and societal laws in both societies and they couldn't help but understand she'd earned her punishment. Even if they didn't like it. That mark was ugly.

After talking it over quietly to themselves, they'd finally just decided to count their blessings and take their daughter home. They did ask for a listing of available tutors for her so she could at least take her owls and keep her wand rights. Or other schools where they could enroll her. They didn't want her hurt because the Ministry here decided to bind her core and take away her wand.

Albus had left the interrogators office as soon as he knew his teachers were trying to make the problem of Ms. Hermione Granger go away for their own reasons. He knew his solution to dealing with her was better applied elsewhere. Therefore, he didn't see Severus slipping the Grangers an information packet on schools in other nations or hear him very quietly advising the family to move out of England as soon as they could arrange to do so. And to arrange for Hermione to begin seeing some sort of a mind counselor to get her morals and principles straightened around again.

Speaking in a near whisper he told them, "She needs help to see what she did is wrong. She doesn't believe she's done anything wrong because the Headmaster told her Mr. Potter would thank her for what she was doing when he was older and able to have distance from it. But is anyone ever thankful for another stealing from them? Is anyone ever grateful when someone lies about them and gets them into trouble they did nothing to earn? Is anyone ever thankful for having their very life placed into jeopardy simply because the one doing it was told by someone else they would be?

The doctor Grangers had nodded with a sad thoughtful look at their defiant daughter. Her father replied just as quietly, "She always has had a hard time admitting she did something wrong. Even when she was a tiny child and broke something because she was running in the house. She'd claim she didn't break it because she never touched it. She placed him in danger? I know you said she tried to kill you. But are you saying she was also trying to kill him?"

"Unfortunately yes. She did. Each year the Headmaster has her, and two other children, set up some kind of a challenge he expects them to lead Mr. Potter into. And each year he has come close to dying because of it. She and her companions may lie to themselves and claim they were only following their orders but the reality is all of them went along with the Headmaster because they wished for him to die before he could come into his inheritance and discover their thefts. The other two children are coming around I think. At least one of them has. But your daughter refuses to admit her guilt even though she knows quite well she is guilty. The mark wouldn't be there if she didn't."

With a grim tight look her mother said, "I see. I know a couple of women from the charity center I volunteer at she can go to. It may delay our moving however. So maybe I should wait until we get settled elsewhere. We'll talk it over at home. Thank you for coming to explain all this to us. I know you didn't have to. Thank you for giving us a chance to save our little girl. Tell Mr. Potter I'm sorry. I didn't see what she was doing or I would have stopped her before it came to this point."

"He doesn't blame you. He knows you're outside our world and have no idea what she was doing within it," Severus assured her. "Just remember, that mark may be ugly now but it isn't permanent. And it is a monitor. It will tell you when she's lying about him or things concerning him. Whether it'll tell you when she's lying about other things, I don't know. I do know it acts on her thought processes as well. So if she's even thinking lies about him or doing bad things to his person or reputation, it will react."

"Anything we should know about that? What to do when it reacts? Or not do?" asked her mother.

"Just call her on her lying. Usually if you call her on it, she'll stop. At least long enough for the mark to settle back down. If she doesn't just make sure she's somewhere she won't get hurt when she passes out. That's the severest reaction I've seen from it so far. It may begin doing more but I'm afraid I have no idea what that could be. This system of punishment hasn't been used in our society since the formation of the Wizengamot. Our court system. And there aren't any written records of what the judgment marks actually do to the people who received them."

"Ok. Thank-you. We don't like it but we also know she couldn't keep getting away with what she was doing. I only wish you adults had been paying better attention."

"So do I, Doctor Grangers. So do I," Severus said shaking each of their hands. Severus left the room to find Minerva waiting for him. As they walked towards the Ministry hearths, the Granger trio were walking Hermione through the auror department checkout procedures. They couldn't help but hear Hermione asking her parents, "So am I to go back to school now? I have tons of homework I need to get done. And Harry definitely needs me to help him with his also. You know I've told you he'd be failing out if not for me making him do his assignments. Are you going to get me punishment on him for what he did to me? I tried to get the Professor do it. I told them you wouldn't be happy with this mark on my face. But they wouldn't listen to me. Did they listen to you?" Thankfully they were soon out of range and didn't hear the rest of her monologue.

But back at Hogwarts and once again secure in his ivory tower, Albus was trying to decide what his next move should be. The life size game of chess had taken on a new dimension and he wasn't quite sure where his playing pieces were right now. The very fact that Albus didn't know exactly what Harry had done to his pawns had Albus tied to his office doing research into the spell when he wasn't running to the bank. Which he had to do more often than ever now. He had to know everything there was to know about the spell; how it worked and how it related to modern day law. How it could be countered and how Harry had found about it was important also. In fact, how it could be countered was perhaps the most important thing of all to know since if he had used it once, there was a damn good chance he'd use it again. And somehow Albus had a feeling he was no more immune to it's effects than the children had been.

That left him no time to speak with Harry personally. Which quite honestly now that he knew Harry knew this very dangerous spell, he didn't want to see his pawn until he had the counter to it ready to use. Not to mention, he feared seeing the boy right now while the money matter was still weighing on his mind for fear of what he might slip up and tell him. After all, last time he'd nearly told him his inheritance was more expansive than he'd led him to believe it was. And the last thing he wanted the boy to know was how wealthy he would become once he achieved his majority. Even if he didn't plan on the boy living that long.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. I hope all of you are satisfied with my handling of Hermione. I never meant to have her imprisoned or killed. Sorry folks. But getting expelled from school for cheating isn't a criminal offense. Harry isn't a published author so I'm not sure his school essays would qualify as plagiarism.**

 **I decided the teachers would just try to make her and her family go away because having it go before the Wizengamot would expose Harry to public scrutiny** **and drag him through the press. Which he wouldn't want or he wouldn't have chosen to call for Magic's Justice upon his foes. Plus having it go before the 'Gamot would alert Molly to the fate of her youngest two. Remember, she still doesn't know what has been happening at the school.**

 **Not to mention the teachers wouldn't want to see Hermione sentenced to Azkaban or thrown through the veil just so the public could feel better about themselves. She's just a teenager. One who needs some serious counseling but still just a girl walking down the wrong road. Hence why Severus explained about that bluebell incident.**


	36. Time Turns

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Thirty-Six: Time Turns

Albus sat in his office enjoying a lemon drop and hoping it would improve his mood. He was severely disappointed and unhappy. None of his teachers were following his proscribed treatment for the boy. The boy was supposed to be uncomfortable here. Miserable and alone making him eager for approval and willing to do anything to get it. He wasn't. He was alone, yes. But that seemed to be by choice. Not because no one wanted to be near him.

In fact, a great deal of his staff seemed to be angry with him. Including Minerva. He didn't understand. Yes, he'd been away from the Castle a lot this year but it couldn't be helped. He had responsibilities outside the confines of the school. She knew that and it had never been a problem before. Why was it now?

He'd counted on Delores targeting his pawn thanks to the special efforts of his chosen children to bring him to her attention. He just knew she would be unrelenting and cruel to him simply because he'd confirm Tom had returned which the Minister didn't want to believe. He was counting on her adding pain to his misery over being isolated yet again from his peers and having his three chosen children making mountains out of gnome holes to trash what was left of his reputation with all the other children. His children were supposed to be playing up Mr. Potter's bad behavior and riling up Cornelius' woman in every class so she would be certain to administer cruel punishment on the boy. The only snag to his plans for the boy this year seemed to be no one was acting as they should be. With Ms. Granger not there to egg on Mr. Weasely, Delores Umbridge had no ready target for her animus because Mr. Weasely was keeping his head down and his mouth shut. And so it seemed was Harry. He'd heard no rumors of Tom's return from the student gossip mill or even the Portrait gossip channels. In fact the only thing any one was talking about was some set-to that took place in the Library back in September.

But Madam Umbridge was quite happy with how easy her job was and how well the children were accepting her words to them. Even that boy the staff had said would be a problem for her was turning out to be no such thing. Though she did try to bait him a few times. Just to be sure because that cheater girl had said he told her He Who Must Not Be Named had returned. But with Harry's refusal to bite her bait, and all the other students taking their cue from him, she found no one willing to argue with her version of events or the Ministry's ability to take care of what mattered in their lives. Not any more at least. Not since the Granger girl had gotten herself expelled.

Naturally Delores thought it was because of her own amazing oratory skills. When instead it was because the children were following the direction of their chosen leader, Harry Potter, who had said not to challenge her. Harry honestly didn't care what she said since he had already decided on a course of action for himself. He'd already read her book and based on the assignments she'd given for the first few weeks of class, done all his essays. So now he spent his free time either in the library or his room reading the books that interested him and practicing his defensive spell casting and potion brewing under the watchful eye of Professor Snape. When he wasn't visiting with either Hagrid or Mr. Filch and Mz. Norris.

In fact with Hermione gone, a lot of things settled down in the Castle. Ron had quieted down taking his cue from his sister now. He was struggling to at least attempt to finish his homework assignments and to control his temper so as to get less detentions. It was hard for him but he was making progress. He'd also read the booklet as Ginny told him too and did a lot of thinking about how he'd feel if someone had done to him what he'd done to Harry. He'd come to the conclusion he'd have probably tried to kill the guy. And with that realization his anger towards Harry died a slow natural death. Now he just wanted to make it through the school year with as much of his pride intact as he could salvage. He wasn't ready to begin atoning yet but at least he wasn't angry any more.

Without Hermione stirring things up, the students tapered off shadowing Harry and running interference for him as Ron tended to avoid him and Ginny hadn't bothered him after Professor Babbling had explained her rune to her. The other kids, who'd at first sought to take advantage of the rift in the Golden Trio, had gotten the message from his wall and were also leaving him alone now. As for those kids who honestly did wish to be his friend, they too seemed to realize now wasn't the time to try. So he was left alone to recover from four years of abuse and mistreatment mixed with bad publicity and bad friends.

He and Severus had compiled a lot of information on the Headmaster and his time in the Castle since the end of October. The School Board used the month of December to determine for themselves how the school was faring under it's current leadership. Severus handed them, minus Lady Augusta, the packet of information on December the first and they dove into it. Lady Augusta already had the packet so they hadn't needed to give it to her. For the next two weeks, they came to the Castle quite often to ask questions.

They asked questions of both Professor Dumbledore and the other Heads of House. These questions ran the gamut of what had occurred at the school during various periods of time to missing courses and lowering overall grade averages. They even included questions about the lack of past time activities for the student body and how the lack of sufficient entertainment might be affecting their overall learning.

They also talked to Myrtle the Teenaged Ghost about how she had died and what involvement if any she believed the Professor had with her death. It turned out Professor Dumbledore had a lot more to do with events during her encounter than he had led anyone to believe he had. That it was he who had talked Headmaster Dippet into stopping the program of housing those who lived in unsuitable muggle homes from remaining at the Castle year around. Because Albus didn't like having students on campus all the time. He was also the one telling Headmaster Dippet the rumors of a Secret Chamber within the school was nothing but a myth and then when Myrtle had died it had been he who had called for the school to close it's doors and suggested Hagrid be expelled for killing her even though he knew Hagrid had done no such thing as he knew Hagrid's pet of the year was a baby acromantula and not a snake with a killing gaze.

Then they talked to Colin about his death and what the Headmaster had done regarding his demise. They discovered he had done the same thing to Colin's family as he'd done to Myrtle's. He sent a note telling them their child was deceased and not much else. Nor had he sent the body home so it could be buried in accordance to family custom. Just as he hadn't sent the body of Myrtle Brown home for her family to bury.

Finally, they talked to Hagrid who kept telling them Professor Dumbledore was a Great Man but he made mistakes just like everybody else. While at the same time admitting Albus hadn't even suggested helping Hagrid clear his name or regain his right to carry a wand. Not before Harry had killed the beastie he'd gotten expelled over or afterwards. Albus hadn't even suggested he continue studying magic he would've learned if his education hadn't been derailed as it had. Not even when he suggested Hagrid might like to take over teaching the Care of Magical Creatures classes here at Hogwarts had he suggested Hagrid spend the summer brushing up on his own learning. He proudly admitted Harry had bought him books to study and learn from. So he could be a better wizard and a better teacher. He even admitted he was licensed to carry and use a wand in France where he held a Beast Master's credentials and was working on a Potion Suppliers license. Thanks to Mr. Potter who had made the arrangements and put Hagrid in contact with the right people over there to get it done.

Those three discussions showed them nothing had changed in how the Headmaster handled events. And that history was repeating itself. Colin's death was almost exactly the same as Myrtle's had been and Dumbledore had done nothing different in handling the boy's death than he had in handling the girl's. Nor had he set Hagrid to rights though he had given the man a job and a place to live. By the same token, he had done nothing to punish the true guilty party while letting an innocent take the fall. In either case. Yes, Harry was still enrolled at Hogwarts but Dumbledore had done nothing to disabuse the students of the notion he'd been the one to get Colin Creevey killed. Nor had he set any kind of a punishment detail for Ms. Weasely who was also still enrolled at Hogwarts. By the time Yuletide rolled around they were ready to make their verdict.

Professor Dumbledore really didn't understand why the School Board was interfering now when they never had before and he certainly didn't like the questions they were asking. As far as he was concerned this could've waited until the children were out of school for the summer. If it had to take place at all. Which as far as he was concerned, it didn't. Right now he had things to do. Information to uncover and a student to get back control over. He didn't have time for meaningless fact finding missions into things that were over and done with. Especially with his back to back bank runs for funding all the time.

Professor McGonagal, however, did know where the questions were coming from. She didn't like it any better than he did since she seemed to be in a spot of trouble herself over it all. But her eyes were open now and she honestly couldn't say she didn't deserve it. She had ignored Harry. Repeatedly. First, for not being enough like his father and then because he was too much like his father. Then he'd been too much like Sirius Black. Then not enough. Too serious. Then not serious enough. She had jumped to believe everything Ms. Granger had said about him and anything that showed him in a negative light. And Ms. Granger had told her a lot of negative things about Mr. Potter.

Now she knew Ms. Granger was a liar. A cheater who portrayed herself to be smarter than she actually was when all along it had been Harry who was the smart one. Like Severus, she'd gone over the assignments all the Hogwarts teachers kept as a matter of course. Since he had said Ms. Granger exchanged her completed assignments for his,- (simply changing the names on the papers and using a very nifty charm to change the penmanship. She didn't know the charm didn't effect a permanent change in the penmanship) -it hadn't been too hard for her to see the truth once she'd gone looking for it.

Which really did explain why Harry had always done so well on his exams while Ms. Granger didn't. After all, Ms. Granger couldn't exactly grab his paper in the classroom changing his name for hers right in front of the Professor. She'd always put Ms. Granger's lower test results down to Exam Anxiety. But that wasn't it at all. Ms. Granger really wasn't that bright regarding things she couldn't glean from the pages of a book. She always wrote a marathon of words and answered every question. But that didn't mean her answers were right. And there was a lot of things about magic she simply didn't understand having not come from a magical background.

Severus had told her Mr. Potter told him Ms. Granger had a problem transferring what she read out of the textbook into every day applications. That she understood what she read and had an extremely high vocabulary but she couldn't paraphrase what her books told her. So when asked a question she would always parrot the book she had read dealing with the topic of the question. While she could follow a recipe and make a decent potion, she couldn't have told you why it worked either. Because that wasn't written down in a book for her to read. If it had worked because not all written recipes would work if the brewer didn't apply their magic at precisely the right point in the brewing. The recipes never told you that because that point varied from brewer to brewer. But because it wasn't written down for her, Ms. Granger would never be able to make those recipes at all. Nor would reading about magic application to Potion Brewing help her any since the time for her to add her magic would be different from everyone else's. And that was why she always failed on her exams and performed less well than expected on her written homework but always had the answer to questions asked in the classroom.

Between them, she and Severus had informed the rest of the teaching staff to the truth of Ms. Granger's abilities and all her teachers were now combing through their own records and piles of saved homework or exam parchments to discover the depth of the girls' cheating habit. It would take time but before the end of the Soltice Break they fully expected to have the class standings for her year fixed.

So when the Board members came asking uncomfortable questions, she grit her teeth and answered them as best she could. It'd do her no good to try and cover for Albus yet again. He had played her for a fool and for far too long she'd danced to his tune. For fifty years now she'd thought him to be a good man with only the best in mind for the British people. Someone who would never deliberately set out to hurt her people's children or play games with their heads and minds. But he had and he did. His lies and games were still hurting the children.

They had caused her to hurt her students and Harry, at least, would most likely never forgive her. Not that she expected him to. He'd all but left the tower and she knew even if she went to him and asked him to resume his old bed in the fifth year dorm he wouldn't do so. And not just because Ronald Weasely still had a bed in that dorm. It hadn't been his bed since halfway through his second year. If he'd even used it for that long considering the hell she and those three had made it for him to be anywhere near the Gryffindor Tower. Severus told her he was comfortable in his rooms and didn't miss the dormitory. Poppy had told her to leave it alone as well. So had Irma surprisingly enough. Even Mr. Filch told her not to bother him now.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. A short, time moving chapter. We're nearing the end of the story now but I ran into a problem on my master copy of this story so it's taking me longer to get each chapter uploaded. It seems when I saved the Master copy to my computer, somehow my chapter breaks disappeared and so did some of the story. So I'm having to rewrite as best I can remember.**


	37. Christmas of Change

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Christmas of Change

All the staff was told to remain in the Castle over the Holiday and several of them had to cancel their plans as they usually went home to their own families. Several students were staying as well including Harry since Dumbledore hadn't dared to carry through on his threat of evicting him for the season. Not that it really would have mattered if he had since the Dursley's weren't there. Harry had discovered he could use a glamour casting item on himself to make him appear in any condition he wished so long as he loaded the image into the item along with enough magic to power it for however long he needed the image. Glamours cast from items were much harder to detect though no harder to dispel. However, he was glad he hadn't needed to do it as it did run the risk of exposing the fact that the Dursley family were in the wind much sooner than he would like.

On the day after the carriages left the Castle, the staff minus Mr. Filch and the elves were pulled into a behind closed doors meeting. The staff minus Albus Dumbledore, who had slipped off to the bank for his bi-weekly haggling spree with the goblins, and Delores Umbridge, who was at the Ministry delivering her weekly report to Cornelius. The rest of the staff weren't surprised to find the full body of the School Board waiting for them.

But they were very surprised with what said Board had to say to them. Very soundly, all the staff was raked over the coals and berated for failing the students who were bored and often went looking for anything they could find to relieve that boredom. Having up-to-date and top of the line classes to offer the students was all well and fine but when there was nothing to do to fill their down time teenagers will find something to do anyway. Even if that meant going out of bounds or picking fights in the halls.

As it was, if you weren't a Quiditch nut or a bookworm, there was nothing here for the kids to do except study and fight with each other. And children will only spend so many hours a day in study before they throw the books into the nearest fireplace for burning. If Albus wouldn't approve any other venues of entertainment, the staff should have put their heads together and came up with something on their own.

Class project competitions for instance. Maybe a treasure hunt through the Castle finding different small treats left by the elves in out of the way locations by solving clues. Or even a chess Tournament in the Great Hall for those who liked playing chess. Or a Gobstones or Exploding Snap Tournament. They could even have found out which students had a vid globe and what shows they had loaded onto it and had a show night. Or if there was music loaded on to a globe or two, they could have had a school dance in the Great Hall. Not every school dance has to be a sanctioned Ball.

But the staff had done none of these things. All they did was complain about students breaking the rules and earning detentions which they then had to supervise. Then they went through the Detention and Points Gained/Lost Master book line by line since the beginning of the year. Severus was the only teacher not wincing as the reasons for said deductions and detentions were read out. It wasn't that he hadn't abused the system so much as it was he knew he'd abused the system and simply didn't care. He'd done what he did for a reason and it was a good reason so he refused to feel guilty about it now.

Minerva was in tears when they were finally released and several students stood together whispering questions of what had happened. None of them wanted anything bad to happen to the stern Scottish woman. And none of them had ever expected to see her in tears. That just told all of them something bad had happened. Sybil Trelawney was also shaken up when she came out of the meeting but no one really noticed since most the school did what they could to ignore her at the best of times. Filius and Pomona came out together and took charge of their own students while Aurora and Septima took charge of the prowling lions since Minerva hadn't even noticed them. Severus came out and nodded to Harry before going to break up the watching students.

Harry slipped away and went to his rooms. He had a signal to give and a final bird to catch in his net. A few seconds later a green eyed elf popped away from the Castle to Gringott's Bank. The elf spoke briefly to Ragnok who grinned showing his teeth to full advantage as he sent a runner back by a contingent of guards to intercept ToeScrape with his client. It was finally time to restore their lost honor. Lady Tonguelash should be pleased.

That night at dinner, which only Delores had made it back for, Lucius Malfoy informed the students of what had occurred that morning. "Over the last several years we, the School Board, have been hearing a lot of rumors. Rumors of impossibly high danger here at Hogwarts. Danger that has caused people to get hurt and some even to die. I'm sure I don't need to remind any of you about those incidents. When we asked questions after each occurrence, Professor Dumbledore always assured us he had everything under control and you students were safe. And every year when school let out for the summer, he assured us _he_ had taken care of whatever problem had arisen whether it be a stone that never should have been brought here or an escaped criminal wandering the grounds."

"Recently, it came to our attention this was not so much an exaggeration as it was a tissue of outright lies on his part. Information came into our possession that shows us Albus Dumbledore was the reason so many bad things have been happening here in the past few years. As well as being the reason we, your parents, have never heard of your danger from yourselves as we should have been. It seems Headmaster Dumbledore was in the habit of casting a widespread confusion spell over the Owlery that had the owls delivering your messages to him prior to leaving the school grounds. This spell was tied to stones spread throughout the Owlery so when he cast the spell it would spread out in a net ensnaring every owl that entered or left the loft. In this way, he was able to monitor your mail and ensure we, your parents, learned of nothing he didn't want us to know. And that he would know everything about you from the letters we would write to you. This interference was highly illegal and we will be taking action on your behalf."

"But furthermore, we learned it wasn't actually he who kept all of you safe in these halls. For that you have to thank your peer, Mr. Harry Potter. We will, in recognition and honor of his efforts, be awarding him a special commemorative plaque in the trophy room as is often done when students show uncommon valor and concern for their fellow students. This award comes with a small trophy that will be yours to keep Mr. Potter. The trophies are done in the house colors and engraved in with the deed performed and the date on which said deed was performed. I do believe there will be at least two awards with trophies for you due to your actions in both your first and your second years here. Possibly more as I'm sure we don't yet know of everything you have done to keep our school safe. Congratulations to you from the School Board."

Harry stood briefly from his place at the end of the Gryffindor Table and bowed his head slightly to the applauding students before turning to include the staff in his thanks for the honor shown him. He didn't speak because Mr. Malfoy was still standing. Instead, he retook his seat as quickly as possible so the students could quit applauding.

Lucius turned back to the assembly of students and waited for the applause Harry was receiving to die down. "So these last few weeks, we've been conducting a very thorough indepth investigation. What we've found is shocking to us and has caused us to take steps we would normally wait until the end of a year to take."

"We found that he has been lying to us while making your school life a nightmare all to test and train one of your school mates. He has been endangering you as you try to study simply because he could. His games have forced Mr. Potter to risk his own life each year for your benefit and embroiled three other children in matters they should have been sheltered against. And when Mr. Potter should've been receiving your thanks for his actions, Mr. Dumbledore had the other three children spread lies about his actions amongst you while he quietly shipped Mr. Potter back to his muggle home. All four of those children have paid a very heavy price for their involvement in Headmaster Dumbledore's games and one has lost her place here amongst you. It never should have happened. Nor will it ever be tolerated again."

"As of today, Albus Dumbledore is no longer the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Your new Headmistress is Lady Augusta Longbottom who has graciously agreed to retire from her seat on the ICW so as to give her full attention to running the school. Her term in office begins now. Unlike Mr. Dumbledore, Madam Longbottom does _not_ feel she can do two or more jobs at one and the same time. As she put it, 'I have one head. I can only wear one hat at a time.' I find I quite agree with that sentiment and am hopeful this school that I love will once again prosper under her leadership."

"Because our investigation also showed us a lot of the endeavors Mr. Dumbledore engaged in wouldn't have occurred had there been a full time Deputy Headmistress who had no other duties in the Castle, we have also decided to appoint a new Deputy Headmistress to the school. My Lady wife, Narcissa Malfoy, will be taking over the position. She will have an office here on the main floor of the Castle with rooms behind it while Madam Longbottom will be taking over the Headmaster's office. Beginning next year, Cissy will also be teaching an Introductory to Magic course for all incoming muggleborns and muggle raised children to help you adjust to our world. It was pointed out to us, the School Board, there are many things the incoming students from the muggle world do not know and they make many mistakes simply because they don't know they are. It was also pointed out that these children are never taught simple home running skills anyone born and bred to this society already knows so Cissy will incorporate that knowledge into the course she teaches to fill this gap between the cultures. Any of you who don't know these skills already are welcome and encouraged to join that class."

"For those of you who are seventh years now, the School Board stands by ready to answer any question you may have about how to find a place to live or a job in this world once you graduate. We can also answer questions on customs and traditions that you might have and will gladly do so."

"Professor McGonagal will still be the Head of Gryffindor House and your Transfigurations Professor. She's a good teacher and just because we have dismissed Mr. Dumbledore doesn't mean we found fault with her. It seems she's been so busy trying to do all her own work while attempting to do his normal work load as well, that she fell behind in keeping track of what mattered most. Really her workload was just too much for any one person. And the fact that the school has been operational at all is to her credit. So we have lightened her load and hope she will find it in her heart to forgive us for overworking her for so many years." Minerva smiled slightly and inclined her head acknowledging the apology.

"Because we feel we could've discovered this game of Mr. Dumbledore's sooner if she'd just had help in her tower, we've instituted a new policy as well. From now on all Heads of House will have a deputy head to help them maintain order in the tower. Given the reason we're here today, we've decided two people are needed to run a tower correctly just as a home needs two parents. So you'll have both a den mother or father and a Head of House to help you with any problems you encounter. It's also recommended to each Head that the den parent be someone of the opposite sex as themselves so as to further promote the idea of parenting the Towers."

"We hope this will not only prevent what happened in Gryffindor these past few years but also a lot of the bullying that goes on in the halls between and after classes. The den parents will be setting up game rooms and study chambers for all of you to use. Yes, we have been informed of your need for proper places to study outside of class, remedial study halls or the library. And for additional recreational activities. After all, not everyone wants to or can play Quiditch."

"Understand though, these new rooms will only be open to you when you are _not_ scheduled to be elsewhere. In other words, no skipping classes or bending curfew. The den parents won't be teaching classes so you don't need to worry that their own teaching schedule will conflict with your classes schedules making it impossible for you to avail yourself of the game rooms or study halls. So yes, there will be some new faces around the Castle."

"We are also considering new courses to be offered here at Hogwarts as it was pointed out the current curriculum is lacking several basics a society is not a society without. That won't begin until next year or maybe the year following as it will take time to decide what courses are needed, find the funding and suitable teachers for each new course. We will also have to decide when said courses should be available to you. We may even be able to bring in some new sporting options for you to enjoy. We don't know yet."

From the gryffindor table Dean Thomas' eyes light up as he said, "Football?" He hadn't intended it to be heard by anyone but those sitting next to him but in the silence of the hall everyone heard him. Snickers to outright laughter met the unintended question.

Lucius gave the embarrassed boy a smile as he said, "I take it you can play this game and miss playing it while you are here?"

Dean nodded. "I do, Sir. But I didn't mean to interrupt you. I apologize."

Minerva leaned in and told Lucius who the student was. He nodded in thanks and addressed the young man. "Apology accepted, Mr. Thomas. I take it this football a muggle game? Team or single player?"

"Team Sir and yes Sir. It's played with a round rubber ball and two nets on opposing ends of the field. Only the goalie can touch the ball with their hands but the other players move the ball across the field any way they can without using their hands. It's a lot of fun and has a huge following in the muggle world. People play professionally and everything. It's big money these days and lots of people like it. Like Quiditch players do here."

"I see. We'll have to check it out. Maybe it's time for some muggle sports to be incorporated into our school since we are taking you children when you turn eleven from their world already. No reason why you should lose everything familiar when you come here. Finding a coach may be a bit of an issue though." Dean gave him a huge smile. He knew a squib who was currently a coach on rotation through the PeeWee teams from his home district that might be interested in the job if Mr. Malfoy was serious. He'd have to talk with him later and see.

"Another need was pointed out by Madam Pomfrey and we'll be filling that one immediately. Medi-Witch Jones is joining the staff as the mind healer/student counselor. She'll work closely with Madam Pomfrey and just as with the Madam any contact between yourselves and Medi-witch Jones is private and confidential. Sometimes a teacher may recommend you to Medi-witch Jones and sometimes it may be Madam Pomfrey who sends you to her. Other times it may be your Head of House or your Den Parent. In any case you are expected to show her the same respect you show to Madam Pomfrey."

"With a new Headmistress and a more even distribution of duties, it is hoped your school experience can be turned into more joyful memories for all of you. For the remainder of this year, we'll simply be working on clearing up left over problems from the administration of Mr. Dumbledore and assisting the Seventh Year muggleborn and raised to find security and happiness in our world."

With his speech finished, Lucius sat down and began to eat his dinner. Madam Umbridge immediately began hissing at him in a low voice so as not to be overheard. "What is this all about, Mr. Malfoy? You know Cornelius expected me to find the dirt on Professor Dumbledore and when he was dismissed, the position was supposed to go to me until Cornelius selects someone else for the position."

Smirking at her, Lucius quietly said, "We can't always get what we want, Madam. As a member of the School Board, I had no intention of allowing the Ministry to appoint a Headmaster here. This is a private school, Madam, and it will remain a private school. Now please do enjoy your dinner before it gets cold. After all, you do have a lot of packing to do tonight."

"Packing? What are you talking about Mr. Malfoy?"

"Well, you are leaving, Madam so I would suggest you spend this evening packing your belongings as you are not now, nor have you ever been, qualified to teach here," smiled Augusta who was sitting in the center seat where Albus normally sat. "You were told to remain in the Castle for an important meeting with the Board. Yet when the meeting room doors were closed, you were not present. Surely you didn't think you were excused from the meeting just because of your Ministry job title, did you? I have already spoken to Madam Bones about a qualified replacement for you and it seems she has several aurors in need of reminders who will fill the position until the end of the year."

"We may even make it a permanent thing," commented Narcissa also with a smile.

"Albus may have been alright with frauds teaching the children but I am not," said Augusta. "All my teachers will be qualified for their position which means Hagrid will be taking his equivalency exams to get his degree this summer. The only reason he's getting until the summer is because his lack of a degree isn't his fault and in no way indicates his lack of knowledge or ability."

"But he's . . ." Delores sputtered unable to articulate what she wanted to say.

"A disgraced former student wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit," interposed Lucius smoothly. "I will be handling the issue of his wand rights and by the end of the school year I do believe those rights will be restored with the blemish removed from his record."

"Thank you, Lord Malfoy. Thank you. Never thought I'd hear meself sayin' that but I do mean it," gushed Hagrid, tears standing in his eyes.

"You are welcome, Hagrid. Truthfully, Albus should have done it a long time ago as he has always known you weren't guilty of the charge that got you expelled. He knew it when you were accused and he pushed for your expulsion."

Hagrid froze. " _He_ pushed for my expulsion?"

Lucius nodded. "Yes. Didn't you know that? I would've thought one of the portraits or Myrtle would've told you."

Hagrid shook his head furiously and looked angrier than anyone could ever remember seeing him. "No," he declared forcefully. "Always told me it was Old Dippet wanted me expelled. Said Dippet wouldn't listen to 'im when he tried to tell 'im tweren't me pet that did the girl in. Said it was all he could do to get me me hut on the grounds and the job as Games Keeper and Keeper of the Keys. But old Dippet wouldn't even pay me proper on a'count of me not finishing my schoolin' all proper like. He tole me Dippet said I could count me hut as my pay for my work and be glad o' it or get out."

Calmly Lucius inclined his head. "Well surprise, surprise. It seems we've caught him in another lie then. I will take a closer look at your pay packet, Mr. Hagrid and see if it needs adjustment while your are regaining your British wand right and getting your certification. As I was saying though, certainly, he should have done it three years ago when the Chamber was opened for the second time. Instead, he let Cornelius send you to Azkaban and let another innocent boy take the blame for actions he didn't take. I apologize for that, by the way. I fully expected Albus to step in at the last minute and save you from that place. He didn't and by the time I realized he wasn't going to, it was too late."

"Albus is a Great Man, yur Lordship. But he. . .well he makes mistakes sometimes. As do we all, ya know. None o' us is perfect, see." But everyone noticed Hagrid was frowning in confusion. They knew it would take time for the gentle giant to understand Albus had never worked in his best interest unless it was first in the best interest of Albus Dumbledore.

The next morning much to her dismay Delores Umbridge found herself and all her belongings forcefully removed from Hogwarts. The house-elves had packed all her things for her as she refused to do so since Cornelius wanted her in the Castle to keep an eye on things and to discredit that awful boy, Harry Potter should he start running his mouth. An awful boy who really wasn't any such thing as far as she could tell.

Not that she'd been able to do anything to discredit him. As far as she could see the boy was a model student. He came to class, listened attentively to the lecture or discussion, read his textbook and did his assignments. He was never late, never spoke out of turn or tried to argue with what she said. She'd never even caught him running in the halls. Let alone doing something dangerous she could take advantage of. And she'd watched him very carefully after what Albus had said about him added to what her dear Cornelius was expecting from him. Then those liars had begun targeting him and trying to rile her up against him by trying to convince her he said things he hadn't said or saw things he hadn't seen. It was so easy to tell they were lying when their faces would swell up like that.

She'd been on her way to breakfast with a full head of steam for whomever had removed all her belongings from her rooms when she suddenly found herself on the wrong side of the Castle Gates with her packed trunks and bags at her feet. When she'd finally gotten her bearings enough to look around herself she headed for The Three Broomsticks where she flooed straight to the Ministry to complain to her dear Cornelius. She brushed right by the aurors who had just exited the floo without noticing them.

Albus never showed up at the Castle for his belongings which the elves had gone through before packing. Many of the items found in his private rooms and office did not in fact belong to him at all. And more than a few had either the Potter name, crest or emblem on them. All of those items were turned over to Harry as he was the last of the Potters and no one believed he had given them to Albus. What was left was moved to the Come and Go storage room where it would slowly begin to gather dust equal to what covered everything else in the room.

Neither Ron nor Ginny had gone home for the holiday being too afraid to face their Mum with their scarred faces. But the twins had gone home after agreeing to pave the way so they could go home at Spring Break. They didn't want to but Harry had talked them into it because they'd have to go home sometime. Maybe if Molly had the rest of the school year to get used to the idea and was only exposed to their marks briefly during the Spring Break, by the time they went home for summer she'd be over the worst of it and actually do something constructive to help them deal with it.

Almost reluctantly, Augusta had moved into the private rooms of the Headmaster position and taken over the office. She was only reluctant because she had grown used to living at Longbottom Manor and had hoped this wouldn't be a long appointment. But even with the mere month she had been looking into Albus' handling of the school, she knew it would take a few years before everything could be straightened out and Hogwarts brought back to it's former glory. Because the Albus she was beginning to see through dealing with everything he'd been doing here was nothing more than a crook. A conman and a swindler who saw everyone as nothing more than a potential mark for him to fleece. Like the flimflam men of lore he talked a good game but that's all it was to him. A game and the only winner was Albus Dumbledore. Much to her disgust, one of her first visitors in her new job capacity was Molly Weasely.

On the day the twins told her about the rune markings, Molly had stormed the Castle. She was determined to see for herself what Harry had done to her babies and force him to remove the brands. She also wanted to deliver her own brand of justice on him for daring to mark them at all. She'd even brought her spoon to punish him for his atrocious behavior in marking her babies like that.

But Augusta refused to let her see any of them. Her own children didn't need to be exposed to her angry tirade when they were only just now beginning to come to terms with their disfigurement and Harry had had every right to mark them as she and Albus had put them into a place where they were his responsibility and everything they did reflected on him as their patron.

Augusta coldly informed her, "If you'd done a proper job of parenting them in the first place those runes wouldn't now be on their faces. As you didn't, they mistakenly thought they could do as they liked. Now they're paying for it when it turned out their patsy, who's also their patron, didn't like the game they'd been playing."

Augusta then pointed out that she was in no way Harry's parent or guardian and therefore had no right to punish him at all. One unkind touch from her upon Mr. Potter's person and Augusta would be forced to call the aurors to have her arrested for child abuse and assault. She didn't deny Harry had marked Molly's children. Nor did she point out the fact he did indeed have the right to discipline them as Albus and Molly together had given him that right by paying the children from Harry's vaults behind his back. She simply pointed out Molly didn't have the legal authority to do anything to Mr. Potter about his actions.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. As I stated at the ending note last chapter, I ran into a problem on my master copy of this story so it's taking me longer to get each chapter uploaded. It seems when I saved the Master copy to my computer, somehow my chapter breaks disappeared and so did some of the story. For these last couple of chapters anyway. So I'm having to rewrite as best I can remember. Most of this chapter was here but the last chapter was drastically shorter than what I originally had written. Hopefully there isn't any more problems with the rest of the story. That would be bad. Just bad.**


	38. Arthur Clues In

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Arthur Discovers the Truth

Arthur had shown up three days into the new semester asking to see his children. Augusta conceded to his requested because he was asking. Not demanding. Nor did he ask to see Harry at the same time. Besides which, his entire body language screamed heart break. Not revenge.

So she had called the youngest two Weaselys to her office and let them visit with their father though she didn't leave them alone with him. He asked them, "How did this happen? Albus assured us everything was going fine between you. He said Harry was dating you now, Ginny, but he was keeping an eye on things making sure it didn't go too far too fast. And he said you, Hermione and Harry were all tight friends again, Ron. But the twins said he marked her too. And she got expelled for cheating. I don't understand this. What happened?"

Ron sighed and hung his head. "First off, we got cocky. Figured since he hadn't caught on to us being paid to be around him or just helping ourselves to his stuff yet, we didn't need to be so careful about what we said or did. I mean, when I think back I can see we weren't exactly subtle or cautious about what we were doing. And there were several times when he caught us red handed going through his stuff. But we just blew it off and pretended we weren't doing anything wrong. And he just let it go, you know. So we assumed he didn't know. Just like we assumed he didn't understand what we truly thought about him. Hermione kept telling us how stupid and blind he is. I guess we just came to believe it, you know."

Ginny was nodding as she added, "But he isn't. Not stupid and definitely not blind. He knew exactly what kind of 'friends' we actually were."

Ron spoke around her continuing his tale. "So when we couldn't get into the vaults at the end of summer and Mum couldn't get us good stuff for this year or new clothes, we put our heads together. Figured we get him to give us back our access and then, on the first Hogsmeade weekend, put his money to our use again. We thought we were so smart, see. Since we've spent all our time here helping our former Headmaster set up his training scenarios and driving Harry into them which allowed the old headmaster to keep his control over Harry and his reputation, we really did think we could do anything we wanted. Any time one of the teachers started getting onto us, Dumbledore would handle it for us and keep us out of trouble. So yeah. We got cocky."

"We decided to confront him about it. Rather stupid of us, now that I think about it. I mean, we were cocky because we thought he was too stupid to know we were being paid from his vaults. Yet we were going to go straight to him and browbeat and bully him into giving us new keys when our old ones didn't work any more." He shook his head as if amazed at how stupid he could be.

"As if he actually had our keys in his pocket," muttered Ginny snorting derisively. "He's not a damn goblin and we all knew the goblins recalled our old keys. We also knew only a goblin can hand out a new key. Yet we confronted him and demanded like children asking for candy that he hand over our keys. Hands out to him and everything. We were so stupid."

Ron nodded flushing with embarrassment. "Mione said he owed us because it was his need to be the Hero that always got us into tight spots where our lives were in danger and neither of us questioned that at all. We should have because we both knew it wasn't true. I mean we set those damn things up so we knew how dangerous they really were. And we always chose to go with him because Harry always tried to stay out of the dangerous part of things. He always wanted to go get a teacher and just tell them what we knew about things. So the teachers could take care of the problem. We never let him because Dumbledore wanted to be able to show the public he was the hero they could count on. And none of us were actually in any danger that we didn't bring onto ourselves. I mean, yeah Gin was in danger her first year here and Mione and I found ourselves in plenty of tight spots over the years. But that wasn't Harry's fault. If it was anyone's, it was Dumbledore's because he insisted we push Harry to solve each years trouble."

"But anyhow, the first time we knew Dumbledore was out of the Castle,"

Ginny interrupted with a frown, "He's been gone a lot this year for some odd reason. He's usually never gone when school's in session. Sometimes he'll go somewhere for a few hours but usually never for a full day. But this year he's gone more than he's here."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Doesn't matter now, Gin. He's not Headmaster anymore." He turned back to his Dad. "Anyway Hermione found out the Headmaster was going to be out of the Castle. Something about a mess at the bank. I don't know how she found out and honestly, I don't really care. We should've stopped right then as soon as she said the word 'bank' but we didn't. I mean, it doesn't take much brain power to realize we no longer had the keys to the vaults he set up for us and now he's having Banking issues? Must mean he's already working on the problem. Right? But we didn't stop. Figured we were smart enough to solve our own problem."

"So we tracked Harry down in the library and confronted him about our keys no longer working. We demanded he give us back access to our money saying we had earned it and he had no right to keep it from us. He questioned us about it. Even used the term Services Rendered which we each agreed was how we earned the money. Not one of us gave a second thought to what it meant or why he used that particular term when we agreed to that classification but we should've. We really should've. Because that's really not a nice term."

Arthur had paled as his son had been talking but now he flushed a bright red. "No, no it's not," he murmured.

"And we really should have realized if Mr. Dumbledore had to be out of the Castle due to a mess at the Bank, then maybe Harry wasn't the reason our keys weren't working anymore." Ginny frowned. "I mean, he was as it turns out. But we had no reason to assume that given Hermione told us why Mr. Dumbledore would be out of the Castle."

Ron looked his father in the eye. He was trying really hard to be mature and own up to his bad behavior and blame in what had happened to him this year. He still felt like being angry over it and finding someone else to blame for his misfortune. Anyone else he could blame. But he was trying to get past it.

"We were wrong, Da. Wrong about everything. We thought he didn't know. He did. We thought we were entitled to that money because Dumbledore had authorized it for us. We weren't because it wasn't Dumbledore's to give. We thought Dumbledore was his legal guardian. He wasn't. We thought Harry didn't know he was the sponsor of our scholarships. He does. But worse. We thought he didn't know what exactly Dumbledore was paying us to do. He did. Every single thing."

"He knew we were being paid to be around him and act like his friends while keeping all the other kids in the castle away from him lest he like some of them better than he did us. When it suited Dumbledore, we were to spread rumors about him to isolate him from the school while keeping our distance and we thought he didn't know. He did. And Mione was paid to keep his grades low so he wouldn't out-perform any of the pureblood kids. Again, she assumed he didn't know what she was doing or why. He did. I'm still not sure why he wanted us to do that actually but at the time I didn't care and just did as I was told. Which was to distract him from doing his schoolwork as much as I could and make his daily life here as uncomfortable for him as possible."

"I honestly thought Harry didn't know a lot of his bad reputation was due to our rumor spreading. But I was wrong. He knew. We thought he didn't know we were leading him by the nose into traps we had set up over trouble Dumbledore had allowed into the school. We were wrong. He knew. Both about the traps and who brought the trouble into the school."

"Secondly, Dumbledore. Like we said earlier, he hasn't been here much this year. Probably why the school year has been running so smoothly this year. Because even when he was here physically, he's been preoccupied and not really paying much attention to anything school related. He certainly hasn't been paying attention if he thought we were good friends again."

"Harry's the king of the school again and all the students are taking their lead from him as to how to behave. And I mean all the kids. Even the Slytherins. The other teachers have even started a Round Robin kind of thing to teach us all our Defense Against the Dark Arts because we've had such lousy teachers for it under Mr. Dumbledore the fifth and seventh years were worried about failing their Ministry exams. All because he told Seamus to ask one of them for help in learning what he needed to know. And then named names and gave reasons as to why each might be a good choice for outside instruction and supervision. Word spread and soon all the named teachers found themselves being hounded by the student body to teach them real Defense so they could pass their exams in May. That Round Robin Defense class is the favorite class of the year according to the school rumor mill and several of the students in it are likely to get upset if it stops because the new administration is bringing in aurors to teach us now that Umbridge has been evicted."

Augusta made a note of the information. Her staff might not like being told they needed to continue the defense lessons they begin giving the student body but the last thing she wanted was a Castle full of unhappy teenagers. Nor did she expect the students to automatically trust the aurors Amelia was sending her for the scheduled class. The students had suffered under bad instruction for too many years now to easily trust their new instructors.

"But we, Gin, Hermione and myself, have been on almost constant detentions since mid-September when we confronted him in the Library. And when we aren't in class or detention, we're in a meeting with Professor McGonagal about our marks and atoning for them or in a study hall. Remedial usually because we, Gin and I at least, are so far behind in our studies we need those classes, Da."

Ginny grimaced even as she nodded. "We were so sure we knew what our future would be we weren't studying, Daddy. At all really and this year with everything that happened, it all caught up to us. Now we're snowed under and instead of having a shovel to dig ourselves out, we've only got a cooking spoon."

Behind them Augusta snorted quietly to herself though her eyes had turned thoughtful. Maybe the children needed to be moved back a year or so if they were truly so far behind their age group? No one wanted to see them fail out. At least she didn't think anyone did.

Ron hurried on as he really didn't know how much time they had to tell their Dad their story and get him to understand the truth. But he did know if they ever wanted to be comfortable at home again, their Dad had to know the whole story so he could calm their Mum down for them before they saw her. "Nor have Harry and Gin been dating. Quite honestly, Harry made it very clear she's the last girl he would choose to date. He has from the very first day of our third year. Her second. We always refused to hear him."

"Mione always lectured him on his unwillingness to just forgive her. She'd point out how ungrateful he was and how he should be thankful because Gin's a popular girl with her age group and could convince people Harry wasn't the bad kid they all thought he was. And I always yelled at him telling him he should be grateful a girl like Gin was even interested in somebody like him when she could have any guy she wanted. Stuff like that. we were trying to force him to accept Gin when he really didn't want anything to do with her. So naturally he doesn't like her. I mean, I wouldn't like a girl that was being forced on me all the time either. That went around telling everyone she was my girl and we'd be together when we grew up. So why should he?" He shook his head over the memories of how arrogant and highhanded they'd been with Harry over Ginny and Harry's treatment of her.

"Harry marked us that day in the library and lectured all three of us quite thoroughly making it very clear exactly why he was branding us to everyone there. And there were a lot of students in the library at the time. We hadn't really noticed when we went in. To be honest, what kids we did see, we only thought gave us the chance to show our might over him. Make sure all our peers knew we were still the leaders of the school, you know. That we had Harry Potter under our thumb and could make him do whatever we said. We wanted to confront him figuring he was interfering with our plans for the school year. Having a few people witness it, was all the better from our point of view as it'd only add to his discomfort when we forced him to give us new keys. He sure turned that around on us though. All those kids got to witness him humiliating us instead. And boy, did he humiliate us!" Ron's gaze dropped from his Dad's face to the floor and off to one side as he remembered how angry and humiliated he'd felt that day.

Ginny sighed and added, "Still, it took weeks for Dumbledore to notice. Almost until the beginning of November. I'd even had time to seek out the Runes teacher here to discover what Harry had marked me with before Dumbledore finally got around to noticing our plight. Not that he did anything. There wasn't really anything he could do. So we've, Ron and I that is, we've had time to get used to our new faces. And I've had time to realize I actually do deserve what I got branded with. I got branded as an adulteress because that's what my words and actions made me. But honestly it wasn't until Hermione got expelled that Ron woke up and realized maybe things weren't as he thought they were."

Ron nodded again. "True. I mean, up until then I'd only been waiting for Dumbledore to find a way to remove the marks for us or to force Harry to do it. I refused to admit he couldn't remove them because I didn't want to believe it was my own magic keeping my marks in place."

"And Mione was keeping my anger running high with all her efforts to discover what Dark Magic he used against us and trying to find a way to get revenge on him for it. Which only meant she was suffering a lot because the marks are monitors for us and her thoughts, words and actions were telling it she was acting against Harry again. So it kept punishing her which only made me angrier because I thought I cared about her."

"But then she got expelled for the cheating Dumbledore was paying her to do and he not only couldn't stop it but as far as I could tell, he didn't even try to. I know. I was here in the office the night it happened. She admitted bold as brass she was being paid by him to dumb down Harry's assignments so he'd get lower grades and that she had his permission to substitute Harry's work with her own when dumbing down Harry's stuff hadn't given her enough time to do her own. Gin's mark can and will go away but . . .mine won't. At least not entirely."

"What do you mean? And how did he do it? Maybe we can undo it. There must be someone that knows how to get rid of it."

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "There is. Us. We know how to get rid of them because Harry told us. He told us when he gave them to us but we were so angry and full of self-righteousness we didn't listen to him. We didn't want to listen to him."

Ginny explained. "These are judgement runes, Da. He used the old magic to punish us for our sins against him. That means he called upon Magic itself after tricking us into admitting our guilt in front of neutral witnesses over how we'd all been using and abusing him for money and fame. Because he called upon Magic itself to judge us, it's our own magic that made these marks and monitors our behavior. He set the terms for the marks but it is my magic that judges my behavior. Just as it's Ron's magic that judges his. So long as we obey the rules he gave us, the marks don't and won't hurt us. But only we can get rid of them and the only way we can do that is to atone for what we did wrong."

She paused looking down at her lap sadly before adding, "But Da, even if I do get rid of my mark, it won't really make a difference for me. Every student here knows what I did to him and most of them have told their families as well. My reputation is ruined because I took the coin Professor Dumbledore offered without making certain I had a betrothal contract to go with it. And by being there in the library the day Ron and Mione confronted Harry about the matter, I confirmed to everyone there I not only knew I was being paid to date him, I was proud of the fact. You know what that makes me in this world. If we believed in a god or goddess, I'd request to be transferred to a convent but we don't so I doubt I'd be accepted," she finished with a wobbly smile and a touch of bitterness.

"After Mione got expelled, I got to thinking, Da. We Weasely's have always trusted and believed in Dumbledore. But I don't think he cares about or believes in us. As Gin reminded me after Mione got expelled, he knew Harry would find out about the payments because sooner or later Harry would come of age and even if we kept it a secret until then, the goblins would've told him when he takes over his inheritance. Even I knew Harry would see it as a betrayal. I know I told Dumbledore that more than once. But he always said not to worry about it. That he'd handle it so Harry would be ok with it. But he didn't, Da. And clearly Harry isn't ok with anything we did. Nor should he be. I wouldn't be if it was me it'd happened to. So why should he be?"

"I want to say he had no way of knowing Harry'd find out now. Or how he'd react if he did. But I can't. We all knew, Dumbledore included, just how very good Harry is at finding out things everyone's trying very hard to keep from him. So we should've expected him to learn the truth and we should've been better prepared to counter him when we discovered he knew. We weren't and I just can't help but think Dumbledore probably had a good idea how he'd react. I'm not saying he knew Harry'd use old magic or anything. Just pointing out he never once said anything to warn us of what Harry might try to do once he found out," said Ron bitterly.

"So now I'm stuck with the Betrayers mark and it won't ever go away. I might get rid of the rest of the rune. But not this," He pointed to the rune between his eyes on his brow. "Harry even told me it'd be there for the rest of my life. Because I betrayed him. Not just once but several times over the years. I can't even say I didn't mean him harm because, at the time, I did. My head was so swollen, I was trying to get him removed from the picture so I could take over his role and become the Hero everyone saw him as. So, as much as these marks have ruined our futures, I can't help but say we deserve them. We earned them." His smile as he said that was subdued and slightly twisted with bitterness but at least he was making eye contact again.

"Several people have pointed out we got off lightly, Mione and me. He could've denounced us and had us arrested by the aurors. I'd have gotten Azkaban, Dad. That's not an exaggeration. It's the truth. Because I tried to kill him in our second year when Ginny was in trouble. Kids here have told us Mione would be lucky if that's what she got. I can't help thinking they're right."

"You tried to kill him? Yourself? Why? How?" Arthur asked weakly as he paled over the admission.

"Oh I didn't think I was doing any such thing at the time. But hindsight shows I was," Ron admitted. "He wanted to get my least favorite teacher once we confirmed where the entrance to the chamber was. I didn't want him to so when the sink opened the tunnel, I picked up a chunk of broken off rock and hit him in the center of his back near his neck knocking him off balance. He fell head first into the tunnel neither of us knew the first thing about. That's attempted murder Da. No matter how you slice it." Arthur gulped but nodded. Even Augusta was nodding. She too had a seat on the Wizengamot and knew it was an Azkaban worthy admission of guilt. If she was sitting on a jury panel and heard someone confess to doing that, she'd have voted for a conviction herself.

"Because we all committed fraud against him. And that's illegal. He never approved the money Dumbledore gave us, Da. Not one single knut of it. Because even though Dumbledore offered it to us, it wasn't Dumbledore's money to give. It was Harry's and all us knew that. Including Mum. Actually, he's had that on either me or Mione dead to rights for attempted murder for each of his years here, I think. Because we were the ones setting up Dumbledore's little scenarios he told us were training missions for Harry. Well, maybe not last year. We really didn't have anything to do with the danger he was facing last year."

"Mione and Gin both owe him a life debt they were denying and you know you aren't supposed to do things to endanger the person who saved your life at risk of their own. Nor does the Wizengamot look kindly on those who come before them who've done such a thing. So you see? It really could have been Azkaban for me at least. Someone told Mione they might actually have just tossed her through the veil to appease Harry if he'd taken us to court an' all."

Quietly Augusta who had listened to every word the two children said, nodded and said, "The children are right, Arthur. If Mr. Potter had brought this before the Wizengamot and I was sitting on the panel, I'd have voted for a conviction. He would have gone to Azkaban and because of her blood status, Ms. Granger would most likely have been fed to the Veil. Your daughter would be given to a house of ill-repute under a contract of bound servitude and ordered to have no contact in any form with Mr. Potter or his family. They are very lucky Mr. Potter chose to handle things himself here at the school instead."

Arthur was wide-eyed by the time his son finished speaking. He'd known things would be bad. But he hadn't expected it to be this bad. He barely heard Lady Longbottom telling him what could have happened to his children. Now he muttered just barely louder than a whisper, "Oh Dear. Oh dear." He took a calming breath and closed his eyes briefly trying to regain his composure.

Finally he opened them again, gave a nod to Lady Augusta and turned back to his children. "I knew Albus had us sign a betrothal agreement for Harry and Ginny. At least I thought the contract was for Harry and Ginny. The money was a part of that so you could play closer to his future station in life. He said you needed to look, act and dress the part of a future wife to a future Lord of the Realm so the money was to help us meet that obligation." He paused as he seemed to catch what he just said. "Oh my. He was playing us the whole time. Why didn't I see this before? Oh Ginny. I'm sorry. It was my job to protect you and I let you down. I am so sorry, Sweetheart." He reached for her and pulled her into a tight hug.

The teens looked confused so he explained further. "When Albus came to us with that contract, he said Harry had noticed Ginny and thought she was pretty but not dressed well enough for his future station. Albus flattered us. Told us what we wanted to hear and we listened to him. In that one statement he relieved us of a lot of our worries. Your letters, Ron had left us wondering if Harry actually knew his place in our world. And we were worried about how we'd manage to find a suitable match for Ginny when she grew up as we just didn't have the money to set aside a good dowry for her. And here was Albus telling us Harry Potter not only liked what he saw when he caught a look at our Ginny but that he did know of his place in our world and wanted to help us make it so Ginny was a suitable bride for him when the time came."

"But I should have known better. I mean you were ten at the time. The only time Harry could've seen you was when we took your brothers to the train to go to school and I seriously doubt he was paying any particular attention to any specific person that day. But I wanted to believe Albus. So I shut my eyes and played the blind monkey."

"Albus kept saying you'd be playing a role and needed to dress the part with enough money to act the role of the future wife of a future Lord. He kept using the words 'play' 'role' and 'act', and I never caught on. After saying Harry thought you were pretty, he never again said anything about you becoming Harry's wife. He never used Harry's name again and didn't once mention Harry's hero status but instead kept referring to you as the future Lady wife. At the time I didn't catch it."

He sighed heavily. "Now, given what has happened, I can see he never meant for you two to marry. I'm not sure why but I'd bet anything that contract I signed is either not a betrothal agreement or it's not legal even if it is. Because I can't think of any child Albus Dumbledore has guardianship of other than Harry Potter. And I can't help but wonder if that was a legal contract, just who did I tie you to if it wasn't Harry Potter as I thought it was at the time. Because if that contract is both legal and a betrothal contract, I'm almost certain it's not Harry who'll be your husband." Ginny paled. Her reputation ruined or not, she didn't want to be wed to just anyone. And Albus Dumbledore had proven he wasn't and never had been acting in the best interest of the Weasely family.

Pale and trembling Ginny whispered, "He isn't Harry's guardian, Dad. He never has been if the rumors we've heard are right. So the only person he can draw up a contract for is himself. I think. I don't want to marry him Dad. He's old. Ancient really. Ewww."

Augusta's lips twitched in amusement as she saw the girl shiver. Really the girl had a point. That would be one very unpalatable marriage contract for a girl her age. To Arthur she said, "You should know we are looking for Albus on charges of Mail Tampering for his actions during his tenure here as Headmaster. The auror department should've received the particulars on that by this time. And those charges should help you break the contract if it actually does exist."

Arthur turned green. He stood up. "Thank you Lady Augusta. I'll go take care of this now." To his children he said, "You just concentrate on your school work. I'll also talk to your Mum. I've already taken away her howler parchment and told the Prophet not to answer her calls or accept any messages from her. Luckily, I have friends there who'll make sure she doesn't get anything into the paper that will embarrass us."

Ron and Ginny stood up as well. "I'd say sorry, Da, but somehow it just doesn't seem to be enough you know. This whole thing is just. . .like a nightmare I can't wake up from," said Ron seriously. "Can you maybe also find out what happened to Hermione? I mean, I don't want to talk to her or anything. I know she's a lot of the reason this happened and I've come to realize I wasn't really in love with her as I thought I was. I was just used to always having her around. But still. . .I need to know what happened to her. She's been a part of my daily life for four years now and I can't help but be worried for her now that I don't know how she is. All we really know is she was expelled from Hogwarts for cheating and taken off premises by a pair of aurors. We don't know if they brought her up on charges, snapped her wand, bound her core, or what. And I don't think her folks know she owes Harry a life debt or what it means for her. That could be really bad for her because her debt was established in our first year then confirmed in our second. So it's a serious debt she owes him. Nor do we know if anyone bothered to explain the rune on her cheek. I mean, I know she said her Mum can read runes. But that doesn't mean she'll understand what it is or that Mione's magic is backing it."

Augusta interrupted, "Mrs. Granger can read runes? She's a muggle isn't she?"

Ron turned to the new Headmistress and nodded. "Mione said her Mum got into it as a hobby when she was going through her training to be a tooth surgeon as a way to relax and unwind. Apparently muggles also investigate ancient burial sites and stuff like our brother Bill does. So they learn to read runes and all other sorts of ancient writing. One of their biggest movies the year Gin was born was something called 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. It's all about a guy who makes his living explore old tombs and stuff. He steals the treasures buried within them and then sells them to collectors or museums. I think. I never actually saw the movie or read the book but that's what Mione said it was about."

"Interesting," Augusta murmured.

Ginny smiled at their new headmistress as she expounded on the subject. "Hermione said muggles study all sorts of dead languages so long as there are examples of that language in written form for them to gather and make copies of. She said her Mum found runes interesting and challenging because they had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with taking care of peoples mouths and teeth. So she could relax as she studied them knowing nothing she made a mistake on was going to ruin someone's ability to eat or talk."

Arthur smiled as best he could as he got the conversation back on track. "I'll try to find out for you, Ron. But she lives in the muggle world so it won't be easy. For now, you just concentrate on your schooling. Seems to me, you'll need it more than ever now." With that the teens were dismissed. Arthur stayed to talk with Augusta about how she had come to be sitting in Albus' chair and running his office as well as what she knew about the affair that resulted in two of his children being marked by another he had begun to think of as a son.

They talked for over an hour and by the time Arthur left the Castle he was much more settled about everything. He still had a lot of work to do if he had any hope of settling Molly down and saving the family from ruin. But while he had come to the school angry, upset and heartbroken over the story the twins had told them, he now knew Harry wasn't the one to blame. Yes, he had called upon Magic to try his children for their actions against him but he'd only done so because they forced his hand. If the children had been patient and waited for Dumbledore to straighten things out for them, they might not be marked at all. Better yet, if they'd just trusted him, Arthur, he might just have seen through Dumbledore's plot sooner. Maybe not soon enough to save Ginny but he might have been able to save Ronald and Hermione. Maybe. As it was, Albus Dumbledore had ruined his youngest two children.

He went to the Ministry to see what he could learn of Hermione's fate and was told she was taking advantage of a tutor so she could sit for her owls and maintain her wand rights. The Ministry was keeping an eye on the family because Hermione was consider a security risk for the Statue of Secrecy. In addition to having hired a tutor for her the parents had also hired a Mind Healer through St. Mungos when it was explained to them that many of the things Hermione needed help dealing with, she couldn't talk to an uninformed muggle about as it would violate the Statue and get the family into trouble with the Ministry. He asked that the family be informed of Hermione's outstanding Life Debt issue and did his best to explain what the circumstances of that debt was though he wasn't exactly sure himself. He only knew his son said she owed one to Harry just as his daughter did.

Then he went home to look for Ginny's betrothal contract. Molly was waiting for him and rounded on him angrily.

"What did you learn, Arthur? I hope you punished that boy for even daring to raise his wand against our beautiful children. Ron and Ginny didn't deserve that from him. After all we've done, this is how he repays us. Marking our children. Disgracing them. How dare he! What did Albus have to say? Did he make that boy remove them? Put him on probation? Expel him? After all, that's what he did to Hermione and all she ever did was help him. No more than he deserves," she ended on a mutter.

Arthur held up his hand and slowly lowered his pointer finger. "A lot." Lowering the second finger he said, "I didn't see Harry so no I didn't punish him." Lowering the third finger, "They did deserve it or the marks wouldn't be there. Magic judged them. Not Harry." Lowering his pinky, "They disgraced themselves with the things they've been doing while at the Castle. They haven't been entirely honest with us over the years and this is the price of their dishonesty." Folding in his thumb, "Albus said nothing because he wasn't there. He's no longer the Headmaster of Hogwarts and Lady Augusta doesn't even know where he is as he hasn't been seen since the first day of the Yuletide Holiday."

Frowning at his hand he shrugged and raised his pointer finger. "So naturally. No he didn't make Harry remove the marks." Raising his middle finger he smiled lightly. "No Harry isn't on probation." Raising the ring finger he added, "Nor is he expelled as he did nothing wrong." Raising the pinky, "Hermione got expelled because she was breaking the Hogwarts cheating rules and falsely representing herself. And Harry, which he never asked her to do in any manner. Her deceit led to a skewing of the marks for every student in her year as she was using magic to sign her name to his work and his name to hers. That means, Molly, Harry is a great deal smarter than anyone believed and Hermione is a great deal less intelligent. But I didn't fail to notice Hermione sure did enjoy taking credit for his intelligence whenever she could."

Pushing out his thumb again Arthur grinned sadly at his now completely open hand. "Harry didn't deserve anything Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Albus have done to him these last four years. Or you. And yes, I do know you too have been taking money from his vaults supposedly to buy his school supplies for him and then spending the bulk of that coin on our children rather than him. Because I do remember how the only things you've ever gotten for Harry was exactly what was on the school supply list for him and not one thing extra. Like new clothing. That ends now and I will be paying back each fraudulently spent coin you helped yourself to over the years because I now know Harry never authorized it at all as you told me he did. Now the piper has come playing his flute and he is collecting his due."

"In the meantime I want to see that contract Albus handed us for our daughter. I've just been made aware Albus Dumbledore is not in fact the guardian of Harry Potter and therefore has no legal right to be entering into contracts on his behalf. So I want to know who exactly did we tie our daughter's hand to."

Molly went pale as cuddled milk as she practically ran for her special drawer where she kept every parchment she considered important to her family.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading.**


	39. A New Direction

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Thirty-Nine: A new Direction

Since the Christmas Break, or the Yule Break as it was now called, life at Hogwarts had settled down. Only the muggleborn and raised children still called that break a Christmas Break and that was only because for them, that was it's traditional name. But with two high ranking and strongly traditional ladies now running the school, the traditions of this society were making a decided comeback. They were slowly teaching the students through word of mouth the traditional names for each school break and what those traditions actually meant to the magical people. Because it wasn't enough to simply tell a child the name of his or her holiday was now being changed and to refer to it as something else from now on. Children had to be given a reason for things like that or they'd not only not remember your change but they'd resent you for trying it. Children like the holidays they've grown up with and only a stupid adult tries to remove or alter them.

The Christians had found that out when they'd been waging war on civilizations as a means of spreading the word of their faith and converting people to their ideology. They'd discovered the best way of converting a population was to adopt their most important holidays and assign those days new more appropriate meanings. In time they'd eased out the traditional names by giving each holiday a new more Christian friendly name and completely ignoring the fact the holiday was completely pagan in origin.

But for some of the student body, this new change was seen as reason to strut all over the place declaring themselves superior to everyone who still used muggle terminology. Or were known to be from families living in the muggle world. This was leading to more conflicts in the halls as purebloods challenged muggleborn and raised children trying to force their point of view on them. For that reason Lady Malfoy was often seen walking the hallways between and after classes looking for the hot spots so she could diffuse them before they boiled over into harmful spell casting.

There was one incident of Draco strutting and trying to lord himself over other students, which he was doing a lot of these days. Simply because his Mother was the Deputy Headmistress now. Most children now heard him routinely saying 'When my Mother hears about this. . ." instead of his often quoted statement of "When my Father hears about this. . ." In this particular incident, he'd overheard Denis Creevey talking to the ghost form of his brother and referring to the just past school break as the Christmas of Change. Immediately, he'd pushed himself into the conversation just so he could throw his weight around.

"It's not Christmas, you stupid mudblood," he declared loudly as he shoved himself in Denis' face. "It's Yuletide. Only worthless mudbloods and those who love them, call it Christmas. Now that my Mother is running this school, you better get with the program and learn your place lest you meet the same end as your brother here." He'd puffed out his chest and sneered for the benefit of his friends to Denis.

"And I was having a private conversation with my brother, Malfoy, about the holiday my family celebrates. You call it Yule, if you like. I'm sure it's Yuletide your family celebrates. That name means nothing to me, however. Or to Colin. I'll call it Christmas because for us and our family, it's always been Christmas. And most likely it always will be Christmas. So go away and leave us alone. This is a family conversation and you're not our family. Or are you trying to tell me that because you're a pureblood you have the right to tell my family how to celebrate our chosen holidays just because Colin and I turned out to be magical?"

Draco let his wand slide into his hand as he sneered even deeper at Denis. "You forget your place, mudblood. We purebloods run this world and you mudbloods need to learn your place here. My mother is in charge around here now and that . . ."

"Makes you nothing more than any other student, Mr. Malfoy," interrupted a cold, refined voice from behind the posse at Draco's back.

Draco turned his head slightly to see who had spoken though he already knew as he'd recognize his Mother's voice anywhere. Especially when she spoke in that particular tone of voice. "Mother. I heard this . . . muggleborn referring to the Yule Break as a Christmas Break and just stopped to explain to him the new name for the school breaks. He refuses to honor our traditions."

"Yes, so I heard, Mr. Malfoy. And in the process you insulted him and his family which you had no call to do as he had not in any manner insulted you. You intruded on a private family conversation without any regard for the subject matter or the persons involved and leveled what could be construed as a threat of death against him. A particularly nasty death at that given his brother is a ghost and just how he came to be one which everyone here is well aware of."

"But I heard him refer to our traditional holiday by that meaningless muggle name the old Headmaster preferred," Draco whined understanding he was the one in trouble here. Not the muggleborn he'd been challenging. "That's no longer to be tolerated here at Hogwarts. We celebrate the traditional holidays now."

"Who said that?" asked Lady Narcissa raising an eyebrow delicately. "I recall no such announcement as that. Neither I nor Lady Augusta have made any such announcement changing the name of any school holiday. Nor do we plan to. You students may call the holidays by whatever name or title you wish as only you know which name has meaning for you and your family. I will not make the mistake of the early muggle Christians in their march across the world to spread their religion far and wide. Nor I believe will Headmistress Longbottom."

"But Mother," Draco whined.

She cut him off. "The muggleborn and raised understand the muggle names of the holidays, Mr. Malfoy because, as I just said, those names have meaning to them. Just as our names for the calendar holidays have meaning for us. Therefore, they refer to those holidays by the names muggles gave them just as we refer to them by the name our people have given them. Either way, what a student chooses to call a day in the course of a private conversation is none of your business and not a justifiable reason for you to either insult them or level death threats at them. You will serve two weeks detention and issue a formal apology in the Great Hall tonight at the evening meal. And Mr. Malfoy, it had better be a suitable apology for your station. I clearly heard you threaten him with death over an imaginary insult."

Dismissing her son who was now glaring at the floor, she turned to Denis and asked him, "Did you have a good Christmas, Mr. Creevey?"

Denis smiled sadly as he gave a vague shake of his head. "Sort of. My family has a hard time at the holidays now. We miss Colin, you see. And since he's a ghost tied to the school now he can't join us anymore. I wish he could because then my parents would know he really is dead and maybe we could make new traditions for ourselves. I mean, I told them he is. And I told them he came back as a ghost but they don't understand why he can't come see them if he's still here."

"He was the oldest child and took care of us younger ones. All our traditions had Colin at the lead. I'm trying to fill his shoes but it's hard when all I really want is to have him still wearing them myself. Our baby sister, Carin, doesn't understand why he went away and our parents don't know how to make her understand because she's only five now. She was two when he went away to school and never came back home. Old enough to understand he was her biggest brother but too young to understand why he doesn't come home any more. He'd promised to bring her a new dolly and she keeps expecting to find it under the tree. But it's never there because Colin can't send it to her. So her letter to Santa always asks for him to come home and she always gets him at least one present. Devon and Tenya, my other siblings, don't get him presents like she does but they don't understand any better. Devon is seven now and Tenya's ten. She thinks she understands but all she's really hoping for these days is that she'll get a letter to come here next year so she can see Colin for herself."

"I see. That poor baby. I will think on this and maybe I can come up with something you can do to help them all understand. You're correct. Two years old is much to young to understand what has befallen your family. Did you get her a new dolly, Colin? If so, do you know what happened to it? Maybe we can find it and send it to her for you. Every little girl deserves a dolly of her own."

Colin nodded. "I did. I had one of the older kids with Hogsmeade privileges buy it for me from the money I made selling my pictures around the school. A lot of the kids wanted pictures of themselves or their friends so I'd take them, develop them and they'd buy them from me. I made a lot of money on them and was getting each of my siblings nice presents for the holiday. I even got a new gardening apron for my Mum. I never got to give my family any of the gifts I got them. But I don't know what happened to it after I died. And I'm not sure it'd be a good idea to send it to her. Might make the family believe I'm still alive and just refusing to come home again, you know."

Denis nodded. "That's true. My parents. . . Well, they were told he died but the former Headmaster didn't even have the decency to send his body home for them to bury. He sent them a note telling them Colin was dead but that was all. No explanation. No condolences. No invitation to a memorial or a funeral. No nothing. Just a short note saying Colin wouldn't be coming home any more. He didn't even return any of Colin's things or the tuition my parents paid. What a nice Christmas present that was."

"How callous," exclaimed Narcissa, shock evident in her body language. Even Draco, who was standing silently and pouting for all he was worth, was shocked at the callousness of the former Headmaster. "Have you managed to locate your brother's belongings at least?"

Denis shook his head. "No. All his dorm mates claim the trunk and his camera just vanished after he was killed. The same as his bed disappeared from their dorm. For my parents, that's actually the worst of this entire situation. How do you say good-bye to someone you have no proof is actually gone? Every time the train comes to the station, they look for Colin to get off it. They can't help it. Because the last time they saw him was when they put him on it to come here to school at eleven. It was a happy day for the family. A day of celebration because none of us had ever expected to come to a boarding school. We thought we'd go to the local secondary day school in our home district. Instead, Colin got invited to attend Hogwarts and to get here he had to catch a train in London. So Da took the day off from the cows and his milk delivery route to take the family to see Colin off on the train. Now they can't help but worry every time they have to take me to that same train station to catch the same train here. They worry I'll disappear from their lives just like he did. And if Tenya does get a letter this summer they'll worry for her as well."

"I see," Lady Narcissa nodded somberly. "Yes, that would be hard and it would make the holiday harder for your family then it already is with a member missing. I do admire your parents courage though. I can't imagine sending a child to the same school I already lost a child to. A school I can't even get to myself. Or have any proof actually exists. Yet they've done so every year since he died. That takes great courage, Mr. Creevey. You have reason to be proud of them." Denis' spine went ramrod straight and his smile though trembling was proud as he heard her telling him he could be proud of his parents bravery.

"As for your brother's belongings and your family's need to say good-bye, let me think on this and see what I can do. It's easy to see how this situation is a problem your family can't overcome without help."

Colin asked, a hint of disbelief coloring his words, "You'd really help my family? Why? I thought the Malfoy's didn't think people like my family were even worthy of notice. Let alone feelings the same as yourselves. That's what I heard when I was a student here anyway. Certainly Draco here said as much every time he calls us by that awful slur. He was just trying it again a few minutes ago in how he addressed my brother when he barged into our conversation."

Narcissa bit back a sneer that wanted to form at the poorly veiled insult to her family, understanding he wasn't intending any such thing. All he was doing was making a comment based on his own personal knowledge and observations. And truth to tell she had heard Draco herself doing and implying exactly what he'd just said he did. A glance at the Slytherin children with a raised brow had them giving her nods indicating the ghost was telling the truth. "You referred to this student as a mudblood, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked in a dangerous voice.

Draco gulped and backed up a step. Shakily he nodded. "Then I will be taking fifteen points from House Slytherin for each time you used that slur and adding another week of detention to the week I previously gave you. Mention of that offense had better be a part of tonight's apology as well, as young Mr. Creevey is not a mudblood at all." In that one statement Slytherin House had just lost sixty points, which had his house mates glaring at him and growling, while Draco had earned a total of three weeks of detention. Draco closed his eyes with a groan. He was going to pay for this in the common room later.

Turning back to the Creevey brothers she spoke directly to the wide-eyed ghost child. "Yes, Colin. I'd help your family. Because no parent deserves to spend the rest of their lives wondering what happened to their eleven year old child. Because your siblings and your parents deserve closure for your loss."

She scowled lightly once again at Draco who seemed to shrink in on himself. "And Draco has much to learn of the world. That particular insult has less to do with bloodlines and more to do with a person's attitude. But he, and others like him, don't understand that and therefore use it incorrectly. It's the main reason his Head of House is particularly hard on them when he learns they have been using it in the halls. And I will certainly be informing him of this confrontation and it's outcome. I'm perfectly sure he will want to have his own words with Mr. Malfoy as well." That statement made Draco pale even more and struggle to bite back a whimper of anticipated pain. Severus had been known to actually use a paddle for students he caught using that particular epitaph. And if he didn't, he was quite fond of a particularly nasty homemade soap that set your mouth afire for hours as well as leaving a nasty taste behind nothing would wash away.

Narcissa ignored her son and went on explaining the meaning behind the slur to the children. "For instance, Ms. Granger and the former Headmaster were both mudbloods because their attitude made them such. They revered the muggle society to such a degree they wished to change our society to match that one irregardless of the damage doing so would do to those who aren't human like ourselves and have no place in that society. Ms. Granger went so far as to suggest we should join the muggle world and do away with the Statue of Secrecy which protects our peoples from the muggles need to know and understand everything. They are mudbloods because what they want for our world would get a lot of us killed needlessly. Because of our magic, we are different from a normal muggle. They would seek to discover exactly why we are different and if they can duplicate our magic for those of their own choosing."

"You, from my understanding, weren't a mudblood as all you seemed to want to do from the moment you arrived here was fit in and learn about our culture. That and takes pictures." She smiled as the ghost blushed. "You had a future in our world that didn't include stomping on our traditions and trying to rewrite our culture. I've heard many stories about you and your camera and how you never went anywhere without it. The least I think we can do is find that camera and return it to your family. Who knows. Maybe when we find your things, we will find some very good shots of the student body and we can make a memorial wall for you that they can come see as a way to say good-bye."

Both the ghost boy and the real brother now had tears streaming down their cheeks as Denis cried, "I've looked and looked but I can't find it. I don't know what happened to it and I just don't know where else to look for it. I even asked the teachers and none of them will tell me either."

Narcissa pulled the living boy to her and held him close as he cried, understanding he needed a hug more than anything else at this moment in time. She was a mother and couldn't resist trying to help a hurting child when she saw one. Denis was the epitome of a hurting child. Colin melted into his brothers body to share the hug as well as he felt he needed one too.

Shakily, Denis sniffed and said, "Brr. Colin, you're freezing me." making everyone chuckle. As the ghost boy pulled back out of his brother, he did so with a radiant smile.

That evening in the Great Hall when all the students had gathered for the evening meal but before the food had appeared on the tables, Lady Narcissa stood from her place at the Head table and got the immediate attention of everyone. "Today in the halls I came upon a situation of grievous insult and slander. As you know such behavior is no longer to be tolerated here at Hogwarts. One of our number was cruelly mocking and insulting another for their background while trying to assert their own superiority to their peers based upon the overheard words of a private conversation between that student and a ghost of this institution."

She looked towards the Slytherin table. "Mr. Malfoy, please step forward." Draco closed his eyes briefly before he rose to his feet and walked slowly towards the head table. He'd been hoping his Mother would forget about it all. That she hadn't really meant what she'd said. He was a Malfoy and Malfoy's apologized to no one. He'd already forgotten his Father's apology to their Care of Magical Creatures teacher during the change over. "Face the student body, Mr. Malfoy," Narcissa instructed him. Draco turned to face his peers.

"Mr. Creevey, please stand." Denis, looking confused but dignified, stood from his place at the Gryffindor table. Only the students who had been present at the confrontation understood what was happening. Everyone else looked confused. A few seconds of silence went by as no one said a word. Draco stood there staring at Denis Creevey as if he expected Denis to apologize to himself. The silence in the hall grew. But it wasn't Denis who was to apologize as the Headmistress soon made clear.

Finally Lady Augusta drawled in a slow voice full of uncomfortable promise, "We're waiting, Mr. Malfoy."

"Yes, Headmistress," Draco murmured standing stiffly as if to hold in a desire to fidget. He lifted his chin. If he had to do this he'd do it with his head held high. "Mr. Creevey, I apologize for my thoughtless words towards yourself and your family this afternoon. I didn't understand what I overheard and incorrectly leapt to conclusions not warranted by your words to your brother. Nor did I understand my personal manner of celebrating Yuletide is not yet Hogwarts policy. I was also rude and inconsiderate by inserting myself into a private family moment though public hallways aren't usually places for private family conversations." He stopped speaking and turned his head to look for permission to resume his seat only to see his Mother giving him an icy look. He frowned in confusion not understanding what else he was supposed to say or do.

Quietly she said, "I told you to give an apology worthy of your station, Mr. Malfoy. That was not it. Since when is it your place to determine where another can or can not speak to their own family members and expect a measure of privacy? Where is the apology for presuming you had the right to tell another what holidays they and their family can choose to celebrate? Where is the token for the threat of death you issued to him?"

Draco's eyes went wide. "I apologize, Mother. I have no token. I confess I didn't believe you meant that as he isn't of our station and wouldn't be expecting such a thing." He completely ignored her other stated questions as he truly didn't think they deserved comment. She let it slide, as the missing token was far more important to her.

"Face your peers and know we will be discussing this later in my chambers. You have shamed me, Draco," she quietly addressed Draco. Standing tall and proud, Narcissa then turned her attention to the student body. "As you just heard there are varying degrees of apologies in our society. This afternoon Mr. Malfoy grievously insulted and threatened Mr. Creevey with suffering the same death as his brother over a perceived insult to himself where no insult was either given nor intended by Mr. Creevey as Mr. Creevey was speaking neither to or about Mr. Malfoy."

"This is why Mr. Malfoy was instructed to issue a formal apology as befitting _his_ station to Mr. Creevey tonight here in the Great Hall. As you have seen and heard, he has tried to renege on that obligation by turning his apology into a thinly veiled critique on what he feels Mr. Creevey and the school are doing inappropriately. This is not acceptable." To Denis she said, "Mr. Creevey, I ask that you not accept the apology as it was given. That apology still holds you more to blame for the conflict this afternoon than Mr. Malfoy who was the only one in the wrong during it." Denis was wide-eyed as he nodded his understanding.

To the students, Narcissa went on. "I understand that your former Headmaster let things like manners and customs common to this world slide while he was in charge here. Consequently, many of you will have no idea when or if you do or say something offensive. But Mr. Malfoy does know. This very situation was explained to him by both myself and my husband when he was eleven and another child unintentionally gave him insult. That child didn't know it was an insult not to shake an offered hand because in the muggle world it isn't an insult at all. Nor did Mr. Malfoy understand his own attitude at the time was why the child, his peer, refused to shake his hand."

"In the muggle world, shaking hands is an individual choice and not something everyone is required to do. You do not have to shake the hands of people you find personally repulsive or rude. Nor do you have to shake hands with people you don't like. Here, in this world if someone offers you their hand and you are male, it's rude not to shake it, or kiss the back of it if the offerer is female, regardless of what you think of them personally. If you are a female and someone offers you their hand it is your duty to take that hand in your own and curtesy to them while inclining your head. But the child, Mr. Malfoy had expected to shake his hand back then, didn't know he should. And Mr. Malfoy, nor any of the other children in that cabin at the time, didn't bother to explain the custom to him."

"As I said, my husband and I explained this to Draco when the incident occurred. So he does know the customs are different between the two societies. This is why, when I came upon him acting beneath his station and offending Mr. Creevey with his behavior, he was ordered to apologize formally to Mr. Creevey. Because he _does_ understand what he did when he intruded on Mr. Creevey this afternoon. He knows he insulted another student for no honorable reason and in an uncalled for manner. And his insincere and insulting apology has only compounded the wrong he did to Mr. Creevey."

"In the coming weeks, each of you will find you have a new class listed on your schedules to teach you these manners and customs you are currently unfamiliar with. This class will be held here in the Great Hall after dinner where we will have room to move around and all of the staff will be assisting in teaching you. We won't be expecting you to fully display these manners or observe all the customs correctly though we do expect you to listen and learn and eventually adopt them yourselves as they will make your life in this world much easier to live. You need to know what is considered polite behavior in this society lest you unintentionally give insult to someone you wish to have the favor of. Just as we would need to do should we enter and try to live in the muggle world."

"For now, I will only say Mr. Malfoy has tarnished his own honor by not bringing Mr. Creevey an appropriate token of apology as he knew he should for the grievous insult he gave him this afternoon and by giving such an inappropriate apology. Until such a time as said token has been given along with an appropriate apology, Mr. Malfoy is without honor and undeserving of Mr. Creevey's respect. That isn't an excuse for any of you to insult or mistreat Mr. Malfoy. Should you do so, you can expect to find yourself in trouble just as he has."

To Draco she said, "There is a new table in the Hall. Please take your place at it now. That will be your seat until you have recovered your honor."

Sure enough there was a small black colored table off to the side of the head table with one chair and a single place setting made up of wooden dishes and thin pieces of tin flatware. Flushing in shame, Draco held his head up as he walked over to the new table and took his seat with as much dignity as he could muster. He just knew after dinner he would be receiving a summons to report to his Head of Houses' chambers. Whether that would come before or after the summons to his Mother's chamber he didn't know. Nor could he decide on a preference. He refused to think about it now. Instead, he sat perfectly still as he listened as his Mother addressed the student body one more time.

"This table has been brought back into service because we, Lady Augusta and I, understand it will take time to get you back to behaving according to what is considered civility in this world. The table has gone by many names over the centuries but is always used for students who have disgraced themselves in some manner or another. We expect you to behave as well bred young ladies and gentlemen displaying proper manners at all times. You can be assured the table won't be used for such things as too many unfinished homework assignments or late night excursions in the Halls after curfew. But it will be used when circumstances show us it is needed. Now let us eat our supper."

Two days later, while Draco was still suffering from the effects of his Godfather's nasty soap and with two more mouth washings still to endure, Lucius arrived at the Castle with an appropriate token for Draco to give Mr. Creevey. And once again dinner in the hall was delayed while Draco gave Denis the token and re-issued his formal apology. This time, under the very stern and unforgiving gaze of both his parents, he did it correctly. He didn't dare not to. Draco was absolutely miserable, in more than a little bit of physical pain and highly ashamed as his Mother and Father as well as his Godfather all let him know very pointedly how ashamed of him they were. But there was nothing he could do or say to excuse himself as he knew he'd been caught in the act and the adults involved knew him far too well to buy any of his attempts to divert the attention away from himself.

Lady Narcissa explained to the students what the token gift meant while Draco was holding it out to Denis. The token was a replica of Colin's camera made of black onyx stone and decoratively trimmed in 18 karat gold at the places where a normal camera would have silver trimming or attachments. It even had a Gryffindor red silken lanyard attached to it as Colin's favorite camera was often worn around his neck. It was engraved with Colin's name, his birth date and the date he'd died.

She explained it was appropriate for Draco to gift it to Denis because Draco had pulled the manner of Colin's death into his insult to Denis knowing full well that doing so would make his insults hit Denis harder as it was well-known Denis was still grieving for his slain brother. She also walked Denis through the proper manner of accepting the token and told the children how they could properly refuse such a token should they not wish to accept the apology of a person who had given them offense. Because not everyone wants to accept apologies and no one should be forced to do so. Especially as not all apologies are sincere. It was an eye opening and informative instruction for the student body after having dealt with Mr. Dumbledore for all their schooling years.

As for Ron and Ginny, without Hermione around to stir up their anger and resentment, they were finally beginning to come to terms with the truth of their situation. The discussion with their father in the Headmistress' office had really helped them put things into perspective and they'd come away from it fully understanding they truly had deserved the punishment Harry had given them. Nor did they have the former Headmaster around to call them to his office where he could confuse them or give them new orders that would allow him to manipulate their patron into a dangerous situation of his own devising while making them feel as if they were doing nothing wrong or that Harry deserved or wanted what he was asking them to do.

Classes were their new focus and almost all their waking hours were spent trying to bring their grades up. The detentions they'd been laboring under finally came to an end, much to their relief, as the Professors came to understand they truly had come to terms with their punishment, place and responsibilities now. But classes were nearly impossible for Ron because he'd spent far too many years slacking off and barely studying. Ginny was also struggling but not nearly as badly as her brother who was facing his Owls at the end of the year.

"You should go to McGonagal and ask to be moved down a year, Ron," said Ginny one night about a week after the Yule Holiday. "Your previous behavior and attitude towards your schoolwork created this mess but honestly, you can't do the work expected of a fifth year student because you never did the work in any previous year. Ask her if you can take placement exams and join the classes appropriate to those exam results."

"But. .. I'm a fifth year."

Ginny rolled her eyes and snorted softly. "In age, yes. In knowledge, no. They've always let you skate by, Ron. You didn't do the work because you thought you didn't have to. Dumbledore always got you passing grades because he needed you in all Harry's classes. But he isn't here any more. Nor do we have access to the Potter vaults anymore to secure our futures. So when you sit those exams you need to be able to pass them with good marks. Right now, you can't do that. And the grades you'd get now will really limit your classes next year should you even try. You know it as well as I do." She didn't mention there was a very good chance neither of them would be here the following year as there was a damn good chance their scholarships wouldn't be renewed if they even existed at all.

"They did the same for me which is why I'm struggling with my classes also. Because when I should have been studying I was too busy strutting around making sure no girls were getting close to my property. Or flirting with some other boy I had no business even looking at. We were the Headmaster's pet students and he didn't want us to fail out. So the teachers let us slide by in their classes. How could he use us if we weren't here to be used? But neither of us know what we need to know for our grade level and you know it as well as I do. That's why I went and asked for those placement exams this afternoon. I'll be taking them beginning tomorrow to find my proper class level and I really think it's a good idea. Dad already gave us permission also. So even if Mum doesn't like it she can say and do nothing to stop it from happening. But you have to request it. The teachers can't just tell you they're moving you down a grade level."

Ron frowned. "But that just means more schooling. I hate school," he groused. Ginny said nothing because she knew he wasn't really refusing. He just really didn't like school or studying. Especially now that he wasn't the popular guy on campus. "You really think I should?" he asked her a few minutes later. She nodded and he sighed. He sat silently twiddling with one of her spare quills for a few more minutes before giving a resigned nod. "Then I will. Come with me to her office?"

Ginny smiled and nodded beginning to pile up their study materials. Ron helped her and a few minutes later they left the Gryffindor common room for Minerva's office. Ron formally requested to take the assessment/placement exams and be moved into appropriate classes for those results. He also requested to delay the taking of his Owls based on the results of his placement exams. "I'm not ready for those Owls and no amount of study between now and the end of the year will get me ready for them," he said solemnly.

Minerva smiled ruefully but proudly as she agreed to his request knowing he wasn't ready for his Owls as the other fifth year students were. Quietly after giving him permission she addressed him. "Congratulations Mr. Weasely. You're finally becoming the Gryffindor I always believed you were. Requesting to take these tests now shows both a level of courage and maturity not often found in people your age. I'm proud of you." Ron's eyes glowed and he couldn't help but smile as he walked back to Gryffindor Tower beside his sister.

The placement exams took place throughout the rest of the week and were graded by the staff as soon as they'd been taken. A new schedule was worked out for both students and Ron found himself taking most of his classes with third years. Except Potions. In Potions he was moved down to the second year class.

Ginny had been moved down to repeat her third year also for all of her core classes. It seemed her detentions with Hagrid had served to catch her up to her year level in Care of Magical Creatures. So she remained a fourth year student in that class. But that was her only fourth year class. And both students requested to drop Divinations and pick up Runes in it's place. Since they were restarting their education, it would be allowed at the beginning of the following year when they would join the third year Runes class.

Divinations had been restructured under the new Headmistress but they had discovered just how much more important the study of runes could be in the life of a young witch or wizard. Professor Trelawney had been put on notice to teach her subject well enough to show it wasn't a useless class for the students or she would lose her position here at the Castle.

Both Ron and Ginny had let their class work slip because both had felt they had no reason to learn the material the Professors were trying to instill in them. Ginny had only lost a year of learning but, Ron who'd been slacking off for far longer and on a more wide spread basis, had lost two. Reality had caught up to them and they had a lot of ground to recover. The good news was that recovery was possible. Both were moved from their previous dorms down to the dorms for their new year assignment which gave both a chance to make new friends. Now that neither was pretending to a higher station than they had a right to claim, new friends was a possibility. Yes, they'd have to work for it but it was possible.

The twins, seeing their egos had shrunken and they genuinely were trying to change, helped them all they could, defending them when others spoke out against them for their past behaviors. Once again, they openly claimed them as siblings and let the school know the pair were under their protection. That earned them a soft smile and a hug from Ginny when she heard them defending her in the common room and a handshake from Ron which they repaid with a back slap and a quick hug. They also made it very clear they wouldn't hesitate to stomp on them if they saw or heard of them backsliding into their previous behaviors. They loved them but they wouldn't tolerate either of them using someone else just because some old man told them it was ok to do so.

As for Harry, he just went on with his daily routine studying for his Owls and asking questions of Severus and Madam Pince whenever he encountered something he didn't quite understand. He still refused to have anything to do with the rest of the staff outside of Mr. Filch as even with the change in command he truly didn't think any of them had his best interest in mind. Or at heart.

Neither of the adults he talked to knew what else he was planning but both were sure he did have something else up his sleeve for their society. After all, all he'd done so far was revolutionize Hogwarts and put his most troublesome persons on the sidelines permanently. There was much more to be done to get this society moving forward in the right direction. Both of them felt he had to have a plan for that as well. Then there was the fact that the Dark Lord was out there and a very big menace to any stability his plans might induce. Not to mention, just removing Albus Dumbledore from Hogwarts didn't mean that man was out of commission either. So both were sure Harry had a plan to firmly neutralize both men as well.

They were wrong as both had already been dealt with and would never trouble this world again. But they didn't know that.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. From what I can tell, the rest of my pre-written chapters seem to be saved just fine. So all I need to do is load each into the Doc Manager, proof each one to make sure it loaded correctly and then post them for you. After I make sure I included all the correct contractions of course. I have discovered that while I routinely use contractions when speaking, I do not use them when typing. That and the placement of commas. Oh Merlin save me from the dread comma. I never get all those in as I should. Anyway. We have about four to five more chapters to go before we reach the end of this tale. I do hope you're still enjoying it as much as you thought you would in the beginning.**


	40. Severus Confronts Harry

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Forty: Severus Confronts Harry

Severus finally brought the matter up one evening as he was sitting in Harry's rooms with him sharing tea and conversation. He always found himself coming here for evening tea nowadays. Ever since Albus had left the Castle he'd found himself feeling far more relaxed and even looking for ways to socialize more. Though he still didn't really like most the people in the Castle or enjoy teaching the students their potions. "Potter, what else do you have planned?"

Harry gave him a confused look wondering what he was talking about as they'd been talking about a potion he'd been reading of in one of his specially ordered books. Severus rolled his eyes slightly but explained. "Since you've returned to Hogwarts this year you've handled the school and your most unwelcome detractors very well. Even your rivalry with my Godson has tapered off and died a slow death. Your detractors are finally leaving you alone and getting serious about the education you are subsidizing for them. Which by the way will you be continuing that? The Board would like to know since they will have to arrange to cover I if you aren't. Both students requested to be tested for their actual grade level and have been moved back to being third year students. So Hogwarts is looking at having them as students for four more years after this year ends."

"Yes. I've told my goblin managers to keep their scholarships going until they finish their Newts. They didn't know when they began their schooling here the funds were being drawn off my accounts. I'm not sure they do even now to be honest. But I won't be responsible for adding two more destitute beggars to the streets of Knockturn Alley if there's a way it could be avoided."

Severus blinked. He hadn't considered they might not actually know the source of their scholarships. But it was a very real possibility. Continuing on with his point to Harry he said, "The school is under new leadership and will be improving itself as well in the years to come. New courses of study and more up-to-date past time activities will lead to a much less hostile learning environment which can only mean good things for the future of Britain."

"Maybe you could suggest at the next staff meeting a course be added having to do with cooking and running a restaurant? Ron would be a natural there I think. Maybe he'll even find the one thing he was born to do through it. Any sort of class on how to run a small business is greatly needed here as Arithemancy just doesn't cut it for that."

Severus considered the suggestion for a few minutes letting the conversation lag. those were good suggestions he admitted to himself. How could the magical world grow and prosper if tomorrow's children had no idea how to run their own small businesses? "Good ideas, Mr. Potter. I'll make the suggestions. Anyhow, I'm not saying those weren't good things for you to do. Or that they didn't need to be done. It's very impressive how you went about handling them. But for most this society those are small matters that have very little impact on their daily lives. For the majority of society, those things won't mean much. Especially if they should have to deal with either of the two men trying so desperately to kill you. So I and a few others are wondering what you have planned next. We'd like to get a jump on getting the restorative laid in for the massive number of people coming down with sudden coronaries."

"Nothing Professor. Not for those situations anyway," Harry replied with a laugh.

Severus blinked. "You do realize that just because neither the Dark Lord nor Albus are here in the Castle any longer, that doesn't mean neither is a problem for you, don't you?" he finally asked bluntly.

Harry smiled and Severus shivered. He couldn't help it. There was nothing friendly in that smile. Quietly, Harry informed him. "They aren't a problem any more. Both have been neutralized through their own actions. I don't need to do anything about either one of them any more."

Severus frowned slightly glancing briefly towards his left forearm where Harry knew his dark mark was tattooed on his skin. "I wish I could feel as certain as you seem to Potter. But I know for a fact what Albus said at the end of last year was correct. He is back and he will come after you. Because you defeated him. In his eyes, you stole his honor and his self-bestowed title as the strongest wizard of the age. Albus feels much the same way about you. And for much the same reasons. Both feel you are, have or will steal their place in the history books. Therefore, neither will leave you alone."

Harry nodded. "I know but they have no choice. As I said both have been neutralized by their own actions and choices. The Dark Lord will soon be worm food because of his choice at the end of the Tournament. If you look at that mark he gave you, you'll notice it's getting lighter every day. And Albus made his own mistakes which have already rendered him powerless as well. Don't ask me what those mistakes were. I won't tell you. Just know he won't be bothering me or anybody else ever again."

"The Dark Lord is dying? But. . .won't he just return again later? I mean, we thought he'd died when you were a baby. But he didn't. I and all the others who followed him knew he wasn't really gone for good back then. I don't want to go back to that situation, Potter. How can you be sure he'll be gone for good this time?" He ignored what Potter had said about Albus to deal with what he'd said about the Dark Lord.

"Because he made a mistake during that ritual he had Pettigrew perform. Both he and that rat are paying for that mistake now."

"Explain please. I must know this time it's for good."

"He took my blood to restore his body. He thought doing so would give him the advantage over me. It didn't. As it turns out 'The Power He Knows Not' is basilisk venom mixed with phoenix tears. For almost anyone but myself, my blood is toxic now and has been since the end of my second year when I took a venom filled tooth to the forearm. Fawkes cried into the wound when I pulled the tooth free so I could have a weapon to attack the diary with. Basilisk are equal opportunity killers. They don't care who you are or how great you think you are or should be. They will kill you simply because to them you are food."

"For him, my blood is doubly toxic because of the phoenix tears it contains. So really you could say my blood is a brand new version of poison for which there is no antidote. Phoenix really don't like dark magic. They attack it whenever they come into contact with it. Which is exactly what is happening to him now. While the basilisk venom in my blood attacks his organs, the phoenix tears are attacking his magic. For me, the tears heal whatever the venom tries to destroy because my magic isn't dark. But for him, the tears are more concerned with the darkness of his magic. So they aren't healing him as the venom destroys his organs and blood cells. Nor will trying to get a new source of blood do him any good since my blood has already infiltrated all his organs and his new body will simply convert any new blood he gets to my blood's composition."

"And since he used both his blood and magic to create that silver hand for Pettigrew, the rat is also suffering. If he isn't already dead, that is. Of course it could be he simply lost his hand and his blood is now as toxic as my own. I doubt it though since somehow I do believe his magic is very dark just as his Master's is. And since the Ministry has already declared Pettigrew as a dead man, there will be no one looking for him or any the wiser as to his passing. In fact, the only people who'll even know are those who already know he helped your Dark Lord return. I'm almost certain none of them will say a word. Whether he dies or not."

Severus snorted even as he nodded his head. "What about the method he used to stay here as a whisp? Albus said he'd made anchors to keep his spirit tied here. More than one of them."

"Albus lied. He only had the diary because after he made it, it took him weeks to recover his strength and he didn't like that. He didn't like being vulnerable and needing to hide from even his own followers during that time frame. He figured the more of them he made, the longer he would need for recovery per item. So he never made another after he created the diary."

"Then why didn't he vanish after you destroyed the diary?"

"Because a portion of his spirit wasn't in the diary and when I destroyed the book, that portion was more than likely inhabiting another corporeal being. Animal or human, that body would hold that portion here when the portion in the diary fled. I suspect that the unicorn blood he drank while possessing Quirrel gave him enough stability in his borrowed host that he didn't need more than one host after I sent the diary soul onwards. It was just under two years later when I was kidnaped from here for that ritual remember."

"When he underwent that ritual, he was in the form of a young baby A baby no more than a year and a half old if it was that old. I suspect he had taken possession of the mother while she was pregnant and switched to the baby just before it was born. Either that or she got pregnant while he was in possession of her which is just gross and something I definitely don't want to think about. Dark Lord possessed woman having sex with a man. Ewww." He shuddered. Severus' lips twitched though he too felt a churning of nausea in his stomach.

"Either way that baby would have given him safe access to a new form until the ritual could be performed if he had possessed the mother first. He could safely move from her to the fetus as it was being born with no difficulties. But it is why he wanted Pettigrew to perform that ritual. He needed a more permanent body for his spirit. Changing host bodies had to be terrifying for him as he certainly would feel his soul trying to leave this realm and only the form he was currently possessing tying him here. He just chose to take the wrong blood for his created body."

"What's to stop him from simply jumping hosts again?"

"Death. And the fact he no longer has an anchor holding his spirit to this realm. You need to understand, Professor. Manufactured through a ritual or not, the form he's in now is his own. It will last until something destroys it. Like the basilisk venom in my blood. Just as would be the case for anyone else. That body is his just as your body is yours and my body is mine. It never held a spirit other than his own as did all the other hosts he inhabited. Including the baby he was in before the ritual had it's own soul. So this created body won't corrode early as his other hosts all did. Or at least he thought it wouldn't."

"For creation, that means that is the body of Tom Marvolo Riddle. And when that form dies, so will Tom Marvolo Riddle." Severus still didn't look convinced so Harry tried to explain better.

"When we die in our own form, we don't get the choice to simply skip to a new host form. If we did, this world would be a lot more messed up than it already is. A lot of people die before they're ready to, Professor. If body jumping was an option, don't you think those people would happily skip to a new form as well? How many of those people who were killed in the last war were actually ready to die when the Death Eater, aurors or Albus and his people killed them? If body jumping was really an option wouldn't a few of them managed it? After all, Mum wasn't the only mother leaving behind a young orphan with no one who could care for it once she died. Surely one of them had to die in a place where others were around to be possessed." Severus gave him a wry look as he admitted the simple truth of that idea.

"No, our choice is to either go on to our judgement or return here as a ghost. And since he split his soul even the option of returning in specter form is out for him. You need a full soul at the time of death to do that. The portion of his spirit he'd housed in the diary has already been dispatched. It couldn't find another form to inhabit before it was pulled onward. Probably because it's choice was either me or Ms. Weasely and to it's mind she was weak and unworthy. I was the one who killed it's former resting place. So I was too dangerous. So it got pulled onward. But that means his returning here as a ghost is out. When his created body dies he will go to his judgement like any other mortal. He has no choice."

"I see."

Harry had his doubts as to whether the man actually did see or not but he was willing to accept his statement at face value until the man said, "Still, the freed Death Eaters Fudge refuses to admit were released by him will be a problem for you. I've no doubt right now they are preoccupied with trying to keep him alive but when he does die, they'll turn their attention to you. And as is their nature they will wreak havoc trying to find you."

"And they aren't my problem. This world has aurors, Professor. Whether Fudge admits the Dark Lord freed his devoted followers or not really doesn't change their job. Now does it? Bellatrix LeStrange is a dangerous woman no matter who reportedly freed her. It's the task of the Auror force to find, apprehend and incarcerate her and her ilk again. Not mine. I refuse to continue to do a job I'm not being paid to do simply so that the people who are being paid to do it can rest on their unearned laurels bragging about how easy it was to recapture them."

"When and if those people make their move to disrupt society, I'm sure the aurors will be called upon to deal with them. Nor do I believe the people here truly expect me to do their job for them. Deal with the Dark Lord, yes. Because Albus told them that was my destiny. You know the Death Eaters have been making pests out of themselves since the World Quiditch game. Yet not one word has been heard calling for me to deal with them. Because the people believe them to be just normal people whom the aurors can easily handle." Wryly Severus had to admit that was true. No one had called for Potter to begin apprehending the escaped prisoners. Nor were they likely to until either fudge or Albus suggested it.

"Albus could suggest it Potter. Then the public would do exactly that. Demand you be brought into the Ministry and appointed the task of rounding them up for the good of the People. Because you're their Hero Boy. And Albus says it's your job to save society," he sneered.

"Albus' days of whispering ideas into people's ears as he fills their pockets with someone else's gold are over, Professor. He'll not be doing any of that anymore."

"How do you know? He's down for now, yes. Getting him booted out of the Castle has knocked him off his stride. But he is still the Chief of the Wizengamot and the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW. He is still a creditable threat to your safety."

"No he isn't, Professor. I told you he has been taken care of and will never bother me or anyone else again. I do not want to discuss him any further."

To end that line of discussion Harry went back to the questions he'd been asked about fixing magical society instead. "As for straightening out society, I couldn't do that even if I tried. This society is what the people have made it. Nothing I could do would straighten it out now. Even if I somehow managed to dethrone every single corrupt politician, the people would only replace them with new people just as corrupt as the ones I dethroned. Because the people haven't woken up and realized their system of government is corrupt. Eventually, something will occur that will change things but it won't be now. Nor will I be doing it. All I intend now is to finish out this year and sit for my Owls."

"And then what? What are your career goals? Your plans for the future. I know both Minerva and Albus said you planned to be an auror but somehow, if that ever was your goal, I don't think it is now. I'd like to know what you'd truly like to do with your life, Potter."

Harry sighed. "So would I," he admitted wistfully. "Honestly I have no idea what I want to do because I have no idea what I like from what I don't. Well, partially anyhow. I know quite a bit of things I don't like. But what I do. . .yeah, that I don't really have a clue about. About the only thing I know I like to do is fly my broom and I can't even do that here because the quiditch nuts won't leave me alone about rejoining the team. And no. I never wanted to be an auror. They only told people I wanted that because Albus wanted people to see me as my father as much as possible. That's why he sicced Ms. Weasely on me. Just as I became James, she was to remind everyone of my mother every time they saw her hanging off my arm. Then when he finally led me to my death, no one would care because everyone knows James is dead. Has been dead for years. And because the people would've already been forgetting me in place of my father, no one would miss me. Harry. Because for the people of Britain, I've never been a real person in my own right. I'm a storybook character. Nothing more."

And for Severus the saddest part about that statement was he could see how Albus' plan would've worked. Because it was true. The magical people of Britain never had seen Harry Potter as a living breathing boy like any other. Not that he was like any other either, Severus ruefully admitted. Hogwarts Child was one of a kind. The Gods definitely broke the mold when they made him as his mother used to say. Of course, she meant it for any guy she saw she considered beyond normal in the looks department. Either in a good way or a bad way.

Deciding to take a chance Harry took a deep breath and said, "What I do know is after I finish out this year and sit those Owls, I intend to disappear. I may hire some tutors so I can take my Newts. Or I may go back to a muggle school and get my equivalency papers. All I really know is I'm tired. Tired of dealing with untrustworthy people. All with their own agendas. None of which are good for me. So while I'm 'vanished', as the saying goes, I'll try and rest while I figure out if there's anything I do like enough to find a career in. So far the only thing I know is I don't want a career dealing with the public on an hourly basis or even a daily one if I can avoid it. Being around people has never been a good environment for me."

"What about you, Professor? Now that I've told you both Tom and Albus are neutralized, what are your plans? I know you don't like teaching and wouldn't have chosen to spend all this time doing it if it wasn't for those two old men. So now that you'll be free, what will you do with your freedom?"

Severus blinked in shock. He hadn't thought about that yet. It hadn't sunk in that both his controllers weren't a factor in his life any more. His mark would soon disappear and no one outside Britain would ever be able to prove he'd once been on the dark side of magical life. "Like you, I don't know," he finally said. "My contract ends this year. I don't have to sign a new one now, do I? Even if they aren't both, as you say, neutralized. I can choose to leave here. Maybe I can open my own Potions business. Put old Arsenious out of business. Or just do private brewing. I do have a list of people who'd agree to buy all their potion needs from me. But I. . .I. . .I don't know. Potions is just about the only thing I actually like to do though. So I'll probably end up doing something with them."

Harry took a chance. "Or you could just take a vacation and relax for the first time in years. Maybe ever. After all, my understanding is you joined those people right after you graduated from here only to almost instantly realize it was a mistake. You went to Albus and he protected you to the Wizengamot at a price. He let you join his side but only so long as you agreed to be here directly under his thumb so he could more easily control you. So have you ever had a vacation? Because we both know there's no way in hell he ever gave you leave to take one. Maybe it's time to take one. Discover who Severus Snape really is now that he doesn't have two self-centered old men pulling his strings to their own tune."

Severus sat there blinking as he contemplated this novel idea. The boy was right. He hadn't ever taken a vacation as either Albus or the Dark Lord had never allowed him the freedom to do so. Both demanded he be at their beck and call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, every week of the year. Neither believed he needed down time just like everyone else. So they'd never given him any. Either that or each had figured the time when he was brewing or running errands for the other was his downtime. Either way it amounted to the same thing. He'd never had any time to himself to just relax and do as he chose. But now freedom was beckoning.

Slowly he said, "You said you might hire tutors to finish out your education. Tutors in what? Maybe I can be one of them if you plan to continue studying Potions," he said thoughtfully, idly thinking this might give him a chance to continue watching over the boy he was oathbound to protect. because no matter what Potter said he knew Albus too well to just accept the man was finished just because he'd been booted out of the Castle.

Harry tipped his head to one side considering the matter for a moment before inclining his head. "I was actually. That and defense, charms, transfigurations, herbology, runes and creature care. But I need to warn you I plan to live in my house in the muggle world and both Dobby and Winky wish to come with me. I also plan to file for my emancipation as soon as I turn sixteen."

"Your house? I thought you lived at Privet Drive in the muggle world."

"I do. My Uncle signed it over to me when he and my Aunt grew too afraid of Albus. They knew he was systematically wiping out everyone I had any kind of a connection to and they worried they were next after he tried to get Hedwig killed. So they packed their kit and signed the house and property over to me and left the country. It's my house now."

"You're on your own! They abandoned you? When did they do this? You're not legally old enough to be alone yet, Potter. Why didn't you tell anyone?" Severus was outraged. A small part of him could understand their fear. But the larger part of him was upset on Potter's behalf. This was not how you dealt with such situations when the child in question was still a minor.

"First, yes. I'm on my own. In a way, I always have been. Second yes. They abandoned me. Why wouldn't they? They were never asked if they wanted the care of me to begin with and they have their own son to worry about. Albus made it very clear I wasn't to have any people I could form an attachment to or with. That included them since I spent my childhood living under their roof, eating their food and wearing the clothing they provided for me. Third, as for when, they left me last July first. And I did just fine on my own. You could say I have been well trained to do well on my own all my life. But as I said, the house is mine free and clear and completely legal. As for why I didn't tell anyone, why would I? What would telling anyone gain me except someone else for Albus to try and kill. You have to realize just because I planned to free myself from his clutches didn't mean I'd be successful in my efforts. And who exactly was I supposed to tell? If anyone cared, why then did no one notice? I was alone at that house for a good two months this summer and not one single person ever noticed."

Severus almost winced when the boy asked his last question. For the first time in a long time he made a snap decision. "I will come with you then. I will sign on to be your tutor and except for creature care, I think I can handle everything you meant to continue studying. How did you plan to study that in the muggle world anyway?"

Harry laughed, relief flooding him as hiring tutors was the one aspect of his plan he'd been worried about. "After I turned sixteen, I thought I'd take a trip for that while this community goes up in flames. I figured as soon as I sign the emancipation papers it'll be front page news and everyone and his Brother will be demanding I be sent for to explain myself to their satisfaction. Mainly because the movers and shakers will be concerned over how I intend to use my power as an adult. I doubt my direction in the muggle world is as unknown as I'd like it to be."

"So instead of sticking around here I figured I'd go abroad to study magical creatures in their natural habitat. Maybe go on a couple of safaris in South America and the Outback in Australia. There's also the African Continent that might be good to go to and maybe even Egypt and the Sudan."

Severus snorted while admitting to himself Potter's summer direction was a poorly held secret considering how very many people knew it already. "That's a good idea. Safaris are good places to learn about creatures in their natural habitat and for gathering Potion ingredients as well. And if you really want to go all those places, we can schedule them well enough to keep you out of pocket for a couple of years giving you time to attain your majority regardless of what anyone says."

Harry nodded. "So you still want to come along for the ride?"

Severus smirked even as he nodded. "Yes. I owe it to your parents to see you grow up and, emancipation pending or not, you aren't an adult yet. I won't count you as an adult until the calendar says you are. Maybe not even then. A few weeks before the end of term I'll tender my resignation and grab the forms for you to end your enrollment here after you take your Owls."

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading.** **There you have it. Harry's plans for after his Owls. Sorry folks. Next Chapter is the Epilogue and you all know what that means. If you missed what happened to Albus go back and read Chapter 37 again.**


	41. Epilogue

**Author Note: Harry Potter and company are not mine. I didn't create them and do not own them. They belong to Ms. Rowlings. As always I remind you this story is already finished. All I need to do is upload each chapter for you to enjoy. And I hope you do.**

Chapter Forty-One: Epilogue

And so May finally came to Hogwarts. Both Ron and Ginny had made a couple of friends now and they were beginning to get back to their old selves again. They never let themselves forget what they'd done the last time they had friends and so never went back to the behavior that had made their first few months of this year so miserable. Their new friends would remind them any time it seemed they might backslide and so would the twins who were wickedly quick with their pranks and devilishly clever in delivering them to worthy opponents. But by the end of the year both Ron and Ginny were feeling more settled with themselves and their decision to take their education seriously now.

Harry sat his Owls that were available at the Castle while Severus dropped a hint in Lady Augusta's ear about his position becoming vacant at the end of the term. He'd mail in his resignation at the same time Harry mailed his withdrawal notice.

On the last day of term, Severus packed his rooms up and left Hogwarts for hopefully the last time. He kew he had no intention of ever returning. In the kitchens no one noticed as both Winky and Dobby gathered their own belongings and popped away from the Castle as well. They had a new life to look forward to and a young master waiting for them to serve him.

He apparated to London and the King's Cross area where he killed time along with Dobby and Winky waiting for the train carrying Harry to arrive. Because for the first and last time Harry James Potter rode the Hogwarts Express home from school. Severus met him on the muggle side of the portal with a small smile and apparated both of them to the alley in Little Whining, Surrey. Dobby and Winky popped in behind them and Harry pointed the elves to the house telling them Hedwig should be in the shed. Then he led Severus towards the house on Privet Drive where Harry stopped to say hi to Steve the neighbor. Steve offered them a glass of refreshment which Harry accepted so Severus did as well. They sat on the porch enjoying the quiet evening and their lemonade. Harry introduced Severus to Steve as his house guest and teacher for the summer.

"So you'll be taking the Dursley's place in watching over him this summer, then?" Steve asked, calmly revealing he knew the Dursley adults had abandoned the teenager last summer.

Severus nodded. "I'm his teacher. He hired me to teach him for the exams he'll be sitting in the next couple of weeks as well as in a couple of years but yes. I'll also be acting as his guardian until his emancipation comes through. Then I'll be taking him on some trips out of the country lest there be a backlash from it."

"Want me to watch over the house while you're out of country as I did this school year, Harry?"

"If you wouldn't mind, Steve. I'd appreciate it," Harry said nodding his head in gratitude.

"Not a problem. Those kin of yours didn't reappear so I'm assuming they won't now either. Some bushy haired girl came by earlier today. Had a nasty looking blemish on her face. I don't know exactly what she thought she was doing or going to do anyway. Whatever it was, she didn't get to do it. They have her down at the local right now for raising a ruckus."

Harry and Severus exchanged glances before Harry said, "Hermione." Severus nodded.

"You know her?" Steve asked. "You might want to stop in at the local and let them know you know her then so they don't think she was trespassing or something."

Harry nodded again as Severus explained, "She was a student at the school who got sent down at Christmas for cheating and breaking school rules. She blames Harry for her expulsion I guess, since it was his work she was using to cheat. As for the trespassing, I can assure you, she was. Mr. Potter didn't, and would never have, invited her here."

"But I'll go make sure they know who she is and where to find her folks," Harry said.

A few minutes later they were inside the house at Privet Drive. Harry showed Severus to the Master bedroom and where the bathroom was before instructing Dobby and Winky they could have Dudley's old room for themselves. He went back downstairs to turn the gas back on and rummage through the freezer for something to make for an evening meal. he hadn't even found something before Winky was back and shooing him aside to let her handle the cooking for Young Master.

"Do you have phone service, Harry?" Severus asked. He'd decided since they were no longer at Hogwarts or planning to return there, there was no need for him to keep referring to Harry by his last name only. It had been months since he'd even thought of the boy as Mr. Potter or even just as Potter. Always in his mind the boy was either Harry, Hogwarts Child or the boy. Besides, in the muggle world, very few adults in a teaching position called their students by their last names or with the honorific of Mr. or Ms. That was mainly a boarding school thing. Most teachers called their students by their first names. So it would seem odd if he kept calling him Mr Potter or just Potter.

"And the direction to get in touch with her parents? It might be better to just call them and tell them where they can find her," Severus said coming into the kitchen where Harry was defrosting a casserole in the microwave. Thinking to himself, 'And that way I can suggest again they move out of the country. Even if Albus is no longer a threat, he did have friends.

"I used to. I unplugged it when the Dursley's left. Didn't want to deal with his sister getting drunk and trying to find them. Then getting angry to discover I'm still here. Might still be connected though. I'll check. And yes I have her direction. She gave it to me at the end of first year before I learned what kind of a person she was."

He plugged the cord back into the wall and picked up the receiver. He passed it over when he heard a dial tone. He was pleased to discover he did still have service. Then he hunted down Hermione's home direction and called her parents. Severus took the phone from him and, when the adult Grangers answered, informed them of what had occurred this afternoon and where they could find their daughter now. It was a short conversation and Severus was scowling as he set the receiver back in the cradle.

After he hung up he explained, "The last time I saw them, her parents were justifiably upset at her branding. They blamed us for not putting a stop to the behavior she was displaying that led to it. But they also blamed you for doing it to her. It doesn't help that she can't admit she did you wrong. I know they are taking her to a mind healer but she isn't cooperating with her treatment. And they're still angry. I think now they're mainly angry with the staff at Hogwarts or maybe it's her they're angry with. But still they weren't too happy to hear from me."

"When she got expelled, did she keep her wand rights?" Harry asked as he sat down and waited for Severus to take the seat across from him. Winky set the meal she'd fixed for them on the table and they began to eat as they discussed the potential problem. Hedwig flew in the open kitchen window and perched on the back of the chair next to Harry barking softly and happily to see her wizard again. Harry fed her small bits of meat as he barked back to her in her own language. Severus just watched and listened in awe as the two reconnected after a long separation.

When it seemed that conversation was finally over for now, he answered the question Harry had asked him. "Yes. The ministry provided a list of tutors and the issue with her stealing from your vaults was hushed up. Apparently they believed Albus authorized it and he was high up in the Ministry as well as at Hogwarts. That he had no right to do it was a moot point, since the public believes he was your magical guardian. The Ministry knows and admits they know he isn't and never was. But the public thinks he is because he said he was. She claimed to believe he had the right to pay her for her service to him in his care of you. So to avoid bad press over it, the Ministry was willing to do whatever they needed to in order to make the problem, ie: her, go away. Her parents selected a tutor from the list and the Ministry paid them to get her through her Owls."

Bitterly Harry replied, "I'm perfectly sure quite a few of my galleons went along way towards hiring those tutors for her so she could sit for her owls and keep her wand rights here in Britain."

"It doesn't really matter though, Harry. Because she lost far more than I think she realizes she did in making that agreement with the Ministry. She still has her wand rights though she doesn't, and never will, have a place in the British magical world. She had to agree to never again enter magical Britain in exchange for that concession. She is also magically bound to that agreement. Given her tendency to lie and cheat, no one was willing to simply accept her word to stay out of our territory. Considering her other option was to be prosecuted for the wrongs she did you where her sentence would most likely have been a one way trip through the Veil of Death, I don't blame her parents for taking the deal on her behalf and making her swear the oath."

Harry thought about it and decided Severus was right. Hermione had lost far more than she'd gained with that deal. "Agreed."

Harry shook his head and dismissed the hard luck of his former friend from his mind as he ate his dinner. Over the next two weeks Severus took Harry by apparition each day to the Ministry so he could sit for another Owl on the esoteric subjects he had been studying while still a Hogwarts student. He also took the Owls for Muggle Studies, Arithemancy and Ancient Runes which were offered at Hogwarts though he wasn't eligible to take them there since he wasn't in those classes. His results came in the middle of July.

On July thirty-first, Harry, with Severus' help, filled out and filed his emancipation papers for the magical world and his withdrawal notice for Hogwarts while the two elves were packing up and shutting down the house for another long absence. With all his Owls in hand, he was no longer required by law to return to Hogwarts or any other recognized school. He was already an emancipated minor in the muggle world having filed that while in his final year at Hogwarts with the help of Dobby and the goblins. So all he needed to do was send both these to the appropriate location and he was free and clear of Britain and it's people. Much to Hedwig's disgust they weren't using her to deliver them. Rather Dobby would pop each form as well as Severus' resignation to the appropriate location for them.

That evening, they paid Steve a visit to inform him they would be leaving the next morning before the neighborhood woke up and Severus handed him a large amount of cash. "In case anything goes wrong at the house and needs to be fixed. That girl you saw before shouldn't be coming around any more but if she does, make sure you don't tell her anything about us and do call the coppers on her because, no matter what she says, she isn't welcome here. But she is a very good liar if she thinks lying will get her what she wants." Steve nodded. He knew the type and would be on his guard against her if she showed up again.

"We'll be going on several safaris and staying in places well off the beaten trail. So we won't be easy to reach. If you need more funds, contact this person and he will set you up. He will also be able to get a message to us if you need us. It may be a few days or even a week or two before we can call you back, but we will get in touch as soon as we can." He handed him a creamy white pasteboard business card embossed with golden writing. The card was for Ragnok who was handling Harry's Estates for them as well as Severus' own banking interests. Steve checked to make sure Harry had his number and asked what to do if the Dursley family should show up.

"Remind them they signed the place over to me and it isn't theirs anymore. In exchange for them abandoning me and me not saying anything about it or calling the authorities on them, they agree to give me the house and the property it stands on," Harry said bluntly. "You might also remind them it was their idea to abandon a still fourteen year old boy who had no other living relatives anywhere in the country. I didn't suggest it to them. But I honestly don't think they will return. If they haven't done so by now, they're settled wherever they went."

Steve nodded and assured Harry he could handle them if they did return and tried to lay claim to the house and property again. He had his own plans for what to do to the couple for the way they'd abandoned Harry last summer. Though he was glad Harry had seemed to land on his feet and found a good protector in Severus. He knew the man was a teacher but he'd also seen the way the man watched over Harry and so he saw him as Harry's protector rather than his teacher.

It would be years before anyone in either society heard from either of them again. There had been a bit of a public outcry when Harry's emancipation and withdrawal from Hogwarts was announced. Mainly Hogwarts was upset because Harry had done so very well on his Owls and his teachers were looking forward to teaching him the following two years. But the public was only concerned over the issue of whether or not he would try to claim his Wizengamot seats while he was so very young still. When months went by without him appearing to claim them, they relaxed and allowed them to forget the Last Potter was now a legal adult in their world and one of their peers.

Very few people actually missed _them_ though. Almost everyone wondered where they'd gone and what they were doing so the Daily Prophet made good money offer stories where they claimed the pair had been spotted in one place or another. Severus' name surfaced from time to time attached to a new potion discovery or an article in a potions related publication. A few sightings of Harry also made the news though most people had their doubts as to whether or not it was actually him in the photos. But for the most part, no one cared where they were or what they were doing.

As for the Dark Lord and his servants, Harry's words to Severus had proven true. The Dark Lord had never surfaced after freeing his servants from Azkaban. Gradually Amelia Bones and her aurors rounded up those freed followers and each one underwent a fresh trial. Some were returned to Azkaban but others went through the veil. One of them was Bellatrix LeStrange as she was caught red handed torturing a child for information on Harry Potter's whereabouts. A child who had no idea who Harry Potter even was. Let alone where he was.

And as for Albus, a few people questioned his disappearance but again not for very long. A tell-all book was released during what would have been Harry's sixth year exposing all Albus' secrets. Of which they were many. Including the fact that he hadn't defeated his former lover, Gellert Grindewald, in a fair fight as he claimed. Nor had he discovered on his own the twelve uses of Dragon's blood. Nor had he actually killed Grindewald as so many people believed he had. Just as he hadn't actually been trying to kill Tom Riddle the Dark Lord known as Voldemort. The book didn't come right out and call Albus a Dark Lord. Rather it let his true achievements and actions do that for themselves.

The uses of dragon's blood was actually nothing more but a compilation of discoveries made by others covering an entire century. These original discovers of the uses of dragon's blood were men and women who worked on dragon preserves around the world or worked with the blood to make armor, weapons and potions. Each had written a paper on what they'd discovered dragon's blood could be used for. And all Albus had done was compile those papers into a single document.

Gellert had been imprisoned in the prison he himself had commissioned under heavy wards that denied him visitors and the right to ever leave so long as a single breath of oxygen remained in his lungs or a drop of magic still lingered in his magical core. He had a house-elf that brought him food, fresh clothing, newspapers, books, parchment, ink and quills. But that was it. He wasn't allowed any visitors outside of Albus who came every once in awhile just to torment the man. Just because he could.

The story of his sister and the destruction of his immediate family was earth shattering for those who believed in him but vindicating for his brother, Aberforth. As it was compiled, like everything else in the book, from Albus' own journal where he had admitted he was the one to torture the five year old girl before confunding the muggle boys into taking the blame for hurting her. He'd done it according to his journal because he was angry with her over having to watch her for the afternoon while his Mum was putting up the vegetables from their garden for the winter and she'd been bugging him. His journal had gloated over how easy it was to torture his baby sister and blame the muggles for it. How gullible everyone was to believe mere muggles could hurt her so badly as to destabilize her core like that. And the author of the tell-all book made sure to include the actual journal passages in Albus' own very recognizable handwriting.

His journal also exposed his involvement with Tom Riddle and who Tom had grown up to become. Very little doubt was left in the readers mind about why Tom had become the Dark Lord he did. And it made it clear Tom was one of the lucky orphans who had entered Hogwarts Halls while the Castle was under the dominion of Albus Dumbledore. Many other orphans had entered that school only to leave it broken and destitute because Albus had discovered who they were and stolen the inheritance they should have been able to claim as adults long before they could do so. And most of those orphans never got the chance to tell anyone what the kindly old man had done to them. They disappeared just as quietly as they had appeared in the British magical society and no one had ever even thought to question their disappearance.

But through that exposition, his changes to Hogwarts as well as the reasons behind those changes were also brought out of the shadows. And of course his dealings with their hero, Harry James Potter came to light as well. All the people he'd either killed or caused to be killed were listed with the date and manner of their demise as well as the reason why Albus felt they deserved to die. Including all those orphans he'd defrauded of their rightful inheritances.

Needless to say, by the time the book was finished, no one who read it really wanted to know where Albus Dumbledore was. Those people now understood Albus Dumbledore had never had the best interest of their world at heart. The only interest he'd ever held close to his heart was his own. None of them ever questioned what became of him.

He had a few die-hard supporters who refused to hear a word against him and still referred to him as a Great Man or the Light Lord. But those were the people who'd been making a comfortable living off his largess and didn't understand that largess was never his to extend to them. A few of them tried to garner interest in the Ministry to discovering his whereabouts but when it was pointed out that there were still charges pending against him from Hogwarts which could be added to with the right questions about matters exposed in that tell-all book, they quickly dropped the matter. because once again, for the British magical people it didn't matter if the book was true or not. What mattered was it could be referred to with the line or page where something was stated found and pointed out to anyone who questioned it.

Molly stayed angry with Harry until Arthur finally worked his way through the wording of the betrothal contract he'd signed for his daughter to Harry Potter. When he realized it actually tied her to Albus as he was the only person the old man could arrange a contract for, the wind went out of Molly's sails. Much as she believed in the goodness of Albus Dumbledore, she wouldn't have ever agreed to tie her only daughter to the man. he was far too old for a girl Ginny's age. When the contract had turned Black she'd been so very angry but when Arthur figured that out, she changed her mind and decided having it go black was cause for celebration instead. Ginny, her dear sweet daughter, was free again.

When Ginny and Ron came home for the summer after that long and explosive year, they'd sat down with their Mother and explained to her how they'd taken the placement exams and were now just finishing their third year of schooling. They would need a further four years at Hogwarts before they were ready to graduate by when term began in the fall they would be taking Ancient Runes instead of Divinations as Harry had shown them Runes actually did have practical applications.

Molly had sat down and cried. It hurt her pride that her babies had been so caught up in that sick old man's ploys they'd hurt their own education. That they'd done so many bad things to another child their age. That they'd hurt Harry who they'd both told her many, many times they considered to be their friend and someone they cared for greatly. Plus, she'd now gotten a very good look at the marks Harry had placed on them for their treatment of him during their years at Hogwarts. And unlike the two teens she did know what those marks said as she had taken Ancient Runes when she'd attended Hogwarts. But once the pair had walked her through everything they'd done and been involved in that would or did hurt Harry, not even she could deny they'd gotten off lightly.

But Hermione Granger was a different story. She was an angry young woman who simply couldn't understand the life she had dreamed of having one day would never happen. Nor could anyone get her to understand her marked countenance was the result of her own actions against Harry Potter who was supposed to have been her friend. Her first friend and the boy who had saved her life. She was arrested for trespassing three times at Privet Drive before her parents finally decided the only way to get her to stop was to move out of the country. So they sold their practice and packed up their home after applying to transfer their licenses to Canada. When the transfers came in approved, they grabbed their daughter and boarded Air Canada never to return to Britain so long as their daughter was fixated on getting revenge on Harry Potter.

They settled in Manitoba and opened a new practice where Hermione worked the front desk after school hours. She was still home schooled through tutors but these tutors were Canadian and had no idea what her background was or why she had a rune tattooed on her cheek. Nor did they ask about it. She took to the move well and her parents began to relax thinking their daughter had finally moved past her traumatic fifth Hogwarts year. They were wrong. Three days after her eighteenth birthday Hermione boarded a plane back to England and tried to enter Diagon Alley. Her oath, given to the British Ministry, to never again enter the British magical world took effect and killed her with her wand still raised to the entry portal behind the Leaky Cauldron. Her parents never discovered what became of her beyond the fact she went back to England to settle things with Harry Potter once and for all.

 **Author Note: Please review. As always I hope you enjoy my story. Happy Reading. This was the Epilogue and you all know what that means. Though this story has come to an end I do have other stories I am in the process of writing but as with this one, I won't post them until I have both a beginning, a middle and an ending. I hate to be reading a story and have it dead end unfinished because the writer didn't have an ending when they began their story. So I won't do it to you if I can help it. Until the next story Happy Reading. The Mother Rose**


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